Manchester United have some wonderful academy players currently in the ranks, and the club are very high on the crop of talent.
In his first five months at the club, Michael Carrick paid plenty of attention to the academy, attending games both at Carrington, Leigh, and further afield as far as Oxford away in the FA Youth Cup.
This isn’t for the sake of it, but Carrick truly believes the academy is important for Manchester United, with youth a massive part of the club’s history.
Both Tyler Fletcher and Shea Lacey both played against Brighton on the final day of this season, but next season should see a lot more academy integration.
What are Michael Carrick’s three biggest priorities this summer to prepare for 2026/27?🤔
The Manchester United head coach has so much work to do…
Manchester United confident of academy players stepping up
With United looking to compete across four competitions next season, the academy will be needed to help bolster the options available to Carrick.
Now, according to the Manchester Evening News, there is real confidence that this can happen.
The report claims that an academy source has suggested there are two or three academy players United consider ready to step up on a permanent basis next season.
One of these expectations is that Shea Lacey will step up for United, but the report claims that there are others who have strong chances of stepping up next season.
The key factor is that United will be in a more normal schedule with European football and hopefully no early cup exits.
Which youngster are you MOST excited to watch during pre-season?
With the World Cup this summer, pre-season will have plenty of academy involvement🔮
Who can step up for United alongside Shea Lacey?
United are in quite a luxurious position that the two potential academy promotions alongside Lacey could actually be two of several possibilities.
Firstly, it has been claimed United will promote an academy midfielder this summer to bolster the ranks.
This could be Tyler Fletcher, Jacob Devaney or Jim Thwaites, or potentially all three at various times.
Another possible debutant is Godwill Kukonki who can offer depth at both left-back and centre-back.
Either way, United can benefit massively from using the academy next season.
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