Ben Amos has admitted that he will have to find a new club for next season due to him falling down the pecking order at Manchester United. The 24-year-old knew that he would have had to push to get a game with David De Gea at the club but, he now has the fact that he has dropped to Louis Van Gaal’s fourth choice keeper.
Amos will seem to struggle to leave United due to him being a lifelong fan and having been at the club for 12 years but, with his performances at his current club Bolton Wanderers, on-loan, he shouldn’t find it too hard to find a new team in the summer.
Whilst at Manchester United, he only managed seven first-team appearances and spent quite a lot of his time out on loan to other clubs. He has spent time at Carlisle, Hull, Oldham and Peterborough.
Bolton manager Neil Lennon has hinted that due to his form at Bolton recently, a permanent deal may be on the cards as both Andy Lonergan and Adam Bogdan are yet to sign new contract. Their current deals finish at the end of this season.
The Bolton team have said that the experience Amos will have gained whilst playing with the likes of Edwin Van Der Sar and David De Gea will suit him well at many clubs. However, when Van Gaal chose to sign 33-year-old Victor Valdes from Barcelona, Amos realised that there was not much point staying at the club.
"Being a United fan, I’ve always believed I can play for Manchester United and always aspired to be a Manchester United player.
"You could say Victor's arrival was the final nail in the coffin. Pre-season, I was told I was number two. With the cup games, if I’d got a sniff of that, that would have made it worthwhile sticking around for.
"As soon as Victor was brought in, I was essentially demoted to fourth really. Fourth-choice goalkeeper, you’ve got to move on.
"If I’m being totally honest because I am a United fan is why I’ve hung around a little bit more than I should have.
"A new manager’s come in at United and I’ve been hanging on, being a United fan, thinking maybe this is my chance."
The goalkeeper got his first chance under long lasting manager Sir Alex Ferguson in the league Cup six years ago. Then it took him until the 2011/2012 season to make his next mark for the United first-team when he played against Valencia C.F and in a 2-0 victory over Stoke.
But, he hadn’t managed to get a single appearance for a year before arriving at Bolton. Some of the clubs who had him on loan only took him on a temporary basis so they didn’t actually need him to play.
Amos, since arriving at the Macron Stadium, has added consistency to a very inconsistent defence. He has managed to keep two clean sheets and only concede three goals in his five games at Bolton.
"I’m out of contract in the summer at United. We tied it in that way, so that I had the freedom of a free move, being 24 I can leave on a Bosman. That gives me a little bit more flexibility about where I can go.
"I'll assess the options in the summer, see what is about and see what the best thing for me is."