'You were right, I was wrong' - The Manchester United manager who admitted Michael Keane mistake
The Man United academy graduate did his former a side a favour for Everton against Tottenham
Manchester United academy graduate Michael Keane gave his boyhood club a helping hand in the Champions League race on Monday night.
The centre back struck a last-minute equaliser for Everton against Tottenham Hotspur in the 1-1 draw. It meant Spurs missed the chance to pull two points clear of United in the table, moving ahead of Erik ten Hag's side on goal difference only.
The Stockport native's first goal for almost a year came at the perfect time for his current and former employers. For Everton, a precious point moved them out of the relegation zone while it means United can move back above Spurs if they avoid defeat against Brentford on Wednesday.
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Keane came through the ranks at Old Trafford but made only five senior appearances. He spent time on loan at Leicester, Derby and Blackburn Rovers before joining Burnley on a permanent deal. He earned England honours while at Turf Moor and moved to Everton in 2017 for £25million.
He has become a key part of Sean Dyche's side at Goodison Park having previously fallen down the pecking order. His career shows he could have made an impact at Old Trafford and one person of a United persuasion who always believed in the defender was long-time reserve manager Warren Joyce, who now coaches Nottingham Forest's under-18s.
“Michael played against Real Madrid on a pre-season tour, and Gareth Bale gave him a bit of a chasing," Joyce recalled to the Manchester Evening News in February 2021. "But he’d had about five days training; he’d been away with England; he’d had a promotion battle with Leicester; he had no pre-season; he had a week away and came back straight into the training because he wanted to be involved under a new manager.
“He didn’t do that well and ended up going on loan; I said to (the then United manager) Louis (Van Gaal) he should stay; I said: ‘He’s a player, he’s a Manchester United centre half’. To be fair to Van Gaal, I met him in a bar in Portugal after he’d left, and he said: ‘You were right about Michael Keane; I was wrong’.
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