Shea Lacey came on to make his senior Manchester United debut in the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
Ruben Amorim has been criticised for his comments about Carrington, but the Manchester United boss silenced his critics by handing out two debuts at Villa Park.
Shea Lacey became United’s 256th academy graduate when he came on to replace Leny Yoro in the final minutes.
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Despite the short cameo, Lacey showed a moment of brilliance, creating an opportunity to shoot from outside the box with a neat piece of footwork.
Lacey impressed on his debut, and United legend Paul Scholes has spoken very highly of the 18-year-old winger.
Paul Scholes compares Shea Lacey to Phil Foden
Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, Scholes and Nicky Butt were quick to compare Lacey to others.
“I remember seeing him three or four years ago, funnily enough talking about Phil Foden, I thought he was exactly like him, United have got a young Phil Foden here,” Scholes said.
“He’s only 18, I thought he was a bit older than that, I remember seeing him that long ago, he’s probably very similar to Foden, he needs to develop a little bit more.”
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Butt added: “Do you know who he reminds me of? He reminds me of Emre, do you remember Emre? He was at Galatasaray, with an unbelievable left foot.
“Very skippy, as opposed to a glider. When he was a kid, at these tournaments, 8, 9, 10, he was always going to be a top player.”
Man United have their very own Phil Foden
Scholes is not the only one to make such a comparison, in fact United fans compared Lacey to Foden in 2023 when the Carrington prospect was just 16 years old.
Lacey is highly technical and is a very talented dribbler, especially with his left foot, hence the comparisons to Manchester City’s academy graduate.
Unfortunately, Lacey was hindered by injury during his time at Carrington, but since returning to full fitness, he has been making impressive strides. Clearly, he also caught Ruben Amorim’s eye.
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Lacey will be eager to live up to his comparisons and continue to lock down a first-team spot at United this season.
With Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo away on AFCON duty, more opportunities should be right around the corner.
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