Tahith Chong voted Under-23s Player of the Year
Tahith Chong has completed a personal awards double by adding the Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year award for 2018/19 to the Jimmy Murphy Young Player trophy he won last season.
The 19-year-old pipped fellow nominees Angel Gomes and James Garner to succeed Demi Mitchell as the victor in the Under-23 category at our annual awards dinner.
This has been a breakthrough campaign for the Netherlands Under-21 international winger, playing in three different competitions for the first team after making his senior debut as a substitute in the Emirates FA Cup victory over Reading in January.
At Under-23 level, he was joint-top scorer with Gomes and netted some spectacular strikes, including a brilliant free-kick at Middlesbrough. He hit doubles in wins over Sunderland and, in the Premier League 2 International Cup, Paris Saint-Germain to show the cutting edge he has been looking to add to his game.
The Curacao-born youngster also shone in the UEFA Youth League and was a constant threat with his pace and trickery in wide areas.
Chong becomes the first player since Guiseppe Rossi to scoop the Denzil Haroun trophy the season after landing the Young Player prize - the Italian striker achieved the feat in 2005 and 2006.
Axel Tuanzebe, who is currently on loan at Aston Villa, is another player who has won both awards but his successes came two years apart, in 2015 and 2017.
Going further back, famous winners of the Denzil Haroun trophy include Darren Fletcher in 2003 and the club's current Head of Academy, Nicky Butt, who picked up the award in 1994.
Scroll down for Chongy's reaction...
WHAT CHONG SAID ON STAGE
"It’s been a good season," he said to former United striker, Dion Dublin. "Obviously I couldn’t have done it without my team mates, the coaching staff, the physios, everyone just helping to make it a good season for me."
When asked about his improvement, after winning the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year last season, Chong said: "I'm just working on every training session, trying to get the most out of them and like I said, the team mates make the training sessions good, so I can't thank them enough."
With several first team appearances during the campaign, Chongy was level headed about his ambitions for the future. "I'm going to just enjoy the moment and work hard in training and when I get my chance, try and grab it. The most important thing is keep working hard."
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