Ahead of the game, speculation surrounded Clinton’s long-awaited arrival in United’s senior squad.

The idea of ​​playing two creative attacking midfielders in the starting XI with both Grace and Ella Toon may have seemed fanciful in theory, but the pair made quite an impact on the international stage in February, after the Reds legend. Tone admitted: “I absolutely loved it. [playing with Grace]. He is a great player, very talented, very good on the ball. To connect with him, we’ve never done that before, we’ve never played together but it felt so natural. I knew where she was and she knew where I was, so it was really nice.

On the 2024/25 curtain raiser at Old Trafford, Clinton returned the compliment, saying: “She makes me feel very comfortable. I love playing with her and we’ve done well so far. We Been in the same team in the pre-season. Obviously, I don’t know what it’s like when the league starts but for me, if I get to play with him, I’ll be really happy.” ‘

The results spoke for themselves and, with both eyeing advanced positions against the Hammers, Grace admitted it was a tactical victory for manager Mark Skinner.

“The quality we have in our team, obviously with Tony as another 10, it would be silly not to use our strengths,” he said. “I think it worked perfectly, but there’s a lot more to come. It was a good game but we have a lot more to come.