Manchester United U18 star Yuel Helafu has been one of the most underrated prospects within Darren Fletcher’s FA Youth Cup finalists side.
It has been a great season for the academy, and one of the most exciting progressions has been that of Yuel Helafu at right-back.
Helafu is a first-year scholar within the academy set-up, but has already made himself a cut above with the U18 side, earning U21 appearances.
His development has been so impressive that United have been shocked by Helafu’s evolution as a player in the past 10 months, and he has seen first-team training sessions as a reward.
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Yuel Helafu praises Lisandro Martinez and Diogo Dalot
Helafu has been involved in senior training multiple times, under both Ruben Amorim and Michael Carrick, speaking to just how talented he is.
In these opportunities, he will have been working with the very best United have, and from the sounds of things, he has benefited massively.
Speaking with the Manchester Evening News, Helafu praised the senior United players who have impacted him
“Joshua Zirkzee is very good with me, always very welcoming, very funny,” Helafu explained when asked about training with the first team.
“Lisandro Martinez as well, because obviously he’s a defender, so he gives me tips.
“I’m not the biggest, he gives me different tips to, you know, to use when you’re marking someone bigger, someone with a physical advantage. But everyone’s top, everyone’s very funny, very welcoming.”
Continuing, Helafu heaped praise on his senior right-back teammates, particularly Diogo Dalot.
“I like to watch sessions and games back and try to be critical of myself and where I can improve. I think [Diogo] Dalot and [Noussair] Mazraoui obviously are the main ones for me because they’re top, top right backs.”
“I think he’s genuinely so good, and he’s a great leader as well,” said Helafu of the Portugal international.
“I remember there was one session and I was in front of him and he was just talking me through the whole session, just making sure I’m pressing in the right way, getting up to the ball, keeping the ball, everything.”
Like Helafu, Jim Thwaites also picked Martinez as a big influence, which shows the Argentine has an underrated leadership role.
Arguably, after Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, and Harry Maguire, it would be Martinez and Dalot who are next up as leaders.
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Helafu driven by Manchester United first-team recognition
Helafu is set for the FA Youth Cup final on Thursday night, and speaking ahead of the final, he has told United’s official website that Michael Carrick’s presence at youth games is a big motivator.
“It gives us an added drive, knowing that the first-team boss is watching, because we want to impress him,” admitted Helafu.
“And that’s where we want to get to in the future. So just give him good ideas about us.
“I think we can all be proud of the season, definitely. But we want to show how good we’ve been with a trophy because, obviously, we lost in the Premier League Cup final, and I think winning the Youth Cup will be a statement of how much we’ve progressed and how good of a team we are.”
Darren Fletcher also hailed Carrick for showing such interest in the academy, and it is undoubtedly one of the best things about this new regime at Old Trafford.
Now all that is left for United is to win the trophy and, subsequently, Carrick to give some of these players a debut against Brighton in the final day of the campaign.
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