Toby Collyer makes “main goal” clear as he reflects on this season’s loan spells

On his West Brom tenure, Collyer remarked, “I enjoyed it. Ryan Mason, I liked the manager, staff around him. Mozza — James Morrison — who’s now in charge. The lads were great. But once you’re on the training pitch, you’re fighting for minutes. They had really good ideas, just didn’t really pick up the results.”

“I got quite a bad calf injury, out for eight-10 weeks. I accidentally tweaked something before the game and then it’s just gone completely in the game. I did my rehab back at United and noticed that I felt I’d gained something being in a different environment, more of a man. And even though I was injured, I was in the United first-team dressing room still.”

“They all welcomed me back. I had a great physio team around me. And other players had niggles, so I was in the gym with them: Kobbie, Josh Zirkzee, Maguire — H. It’s the best place to do rehab.”

Asked how the switch to Hull materialised, Collyer answered, “It was a no-brainer. Hull showed interest in the summer and I had to make a tough decision to say no. I felt they really wanted me by coming back. The team were doing well with a slightly different style of play to West Brom. I thought I could benefit from that.”

“West Brom was proper possession-based; you’re trying to play out from the back. At Hull, it’s more direct, a football I’ve not experienced at this level. The lads are good, the mood, we’re in a great spot.”

He added, “I’ve not had as many minutes as I’ve wanted, but when I first came, I hadn’t played in 10 weeks. I had a tiny injury, which kept me out for a week and a half. I’ve just managed to get back up to speed, so it’s just about kicking on now.”

“The ideal goal is to get promoted and it’s possible with the group of lads we’ve got here, the coaching staff, the people around the club. It’s a family and I want to contribute to that. Off the field, I’m in a little village near the training ground. It sort of reminds me of home, that’s what it was like growing up. I’m a country boy.”

Questioned about where he wants to be in five year’s time, Collyer replied, “Everyone wants to play for Man United. That’s my main goal, but if not, just be playing in the Premier League as an established player.”

United arrival

Collyer joined United in 2022 from Brighton and Hove Albion, putting pen to paper on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

United opted to sign Collyer after a successful trial. He impressed in a friendly against Huddersfield Town, convincing the Red Devils to snap him up. He worked his way up in the youth ranks before going on to become a first-team member under Erik ten Hag.

Collyer said of how his move to United got over the line, “The England coach, Justin Cochrane. My first experience with him was with England’s under-15s. I went for a couple of training sessions, then training camps and he liked me. We won one of the tournaments, a UEFA development competition, beating Spain. Then Covid happened and I didn’t have that much to do with England in the under-17s.”

“It was my first proper year at Brighton, then Justin joined United and suggested it would be right step for me to join United. Justin had a massive impact on my career. I noticed how driven he was from his sessions where he had an ability to get the best out of every player.”

“I was shocked when I heard ‘Man United’ but he said, ‘Come over, do three or four days just training. It’s not a trial’. I went and did a couple of training sessions with the 23s. Players like Zidane Iqbal, Charlie Savage and Hannibal Mejbri. I enjoyed it and decided to make the move.”

He added, “Big change. I moved to digs in Sale. I was on my own which I enjoyed with my own space. Lived with a good family. There were times where I thought, ‘Shall I move out, sort of get my own place?’ But I enjoyed it. I was training with the 21s under Mark Dempsey and had a few injury setbacks to do with growing out, a couple of stress fractures. That wasn’t easy to handle, but luckily, it’s all good now.”

“Dave Hughes was a coach, Travis Binnion overlooked everything. It was a good first season for my development. I played different positions and had more opportunities where they could ask something different from me on the pitch.”

“Whereas at Brighton, I was predominantly just a ‘six’. At United I could see the game differently and what I could offer. Then, going into the second season we played Wrexham pre-season in San Diego, my first experience around a proper crowd, maybe 30,000.”

“I started the game; I trained with the first team. It was a real booster. By February (2024) I was with the first team every day.”

On how Ten Hag handled him, Collyer divulged, “Good. He recognised my biggest strengths and tried to help me put myself in situations where I’d utilise them: my ability off the ball, timing of runs. I’m good at making corner runs. Pre-season out in LA (in 2023), Erik gave me the freedom to go forward more and make those runs. I was taking each game as it came, showing myself to hopefully get a decent exposure. I never looked too far ahead, just tried to get as many minutes as possible.”

“I played in SoFi Stadium vs Arsenal, an incredible experience, my first proper first-team game where I was getting a feel for the tempo, even though it was pre-season. I was up against (Martin) Odegaard. Tough. I managed to get the better of him a couple of times, but he’s an amazing player, so clever. He’d drag you into areas you don’t want to go, so you’d pick and choose when to go and when not to and you can’t always get it right every time.”

“I was settled at United. Good mates with Ayden (Heaven) when he came in, another southerner. I was also sat next to Eriksen, Chris. Big help to me. Him, Tom Heaton, Harry (Maguire) and Jonny Evans. They were the first ones to properly help me when I first went across and made me feel welcome.”

“Chris was good because he plays in my position as well. His technique is unbelievable. There was one time when he, I and Harry Amass were taking free kicks. He was trying to tell me what this technique was. I was like, I haven’t got a clue how to do this. It just shows how good he is.”

Collyer made his official senior United debut in August 2024, coming on as a 59th-minute substitute in the FA Community Shield against Manchester City at Wembley. In doing so, he became the 251st academy graduate to line up for the senior side.

Feature image George Wood via Getty Images

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