Shea Lacey is playing like a man among boys at the academy level, and the latest addition to his game shows the benefit of training with Bruno Fernandes.
The first team has been a case of “so close, yet so far” for Shea Lacey this season due to a combination of fewer senior games and his own injury worries.
However, that doesn’t mean that the work stops, and Lacey has proven that he’s too good for academy football with some unstoppable performances.
The latest came in Man Utd U21s 3-2 win against Sunderland to advance in Premier League 2 playoffs, where he showed the effects of training with Bruno Fernandes.
How good can Shea Lacey become? Who does he remind you of?
Darren Fletcher has made a big prediction about Shea Lacey!
Shea Lacey benefits from Bruno Fernandes mentoring
Bruno Fernandes is the model senior professional, as he has been consistently named by youngsters as the player who helps them with the leap to senior football.
Lacey is no different, and it’s an open secret that United have paired the two to work closely together.
They are different kinds of players, but what Lacey lacked is exactly what Fernandes excelled at.
Against Sunderland, it became clear that the training is paying dividends, as Lacey showed an underrated part of his game.
He dropped deep and launched laser-guided long passes, also switching the play with gusto to help his team escape the press.
Those long passes had shades of Fernandes all over them, and it added to Lacey’s game, which is largely about operating in small spaces.
In addition, Lacey is also increasingly starting to use his right foot to add unpredictability to his game, as his game was concentrated on cutting inside from the right wing onto his stronger left foot.
Most importantly, Lacey’s time with the senior team has seen him add “maturity” to his game, as revealed by Man Utd U21s manager Adam Lawrence after the 3-2 win.
Adam Lawrence notes major improvement in Lacey
Lacey has always been highly rated at Carrington, but progress hasn’t come easily for the youngster due to injury problems.
What are your expectations for Shea Lacey next season?
If he can stay fit surely he gets plenty of minutes…🤔
However, it’s a testament to his qualities that he hasn’t let those problems derail his development, as every return has been better than the previous one.
Lawrence noted that Lacey’s career path has seen him mature quickly, and the time with the senior team has helped.
He said: “Shea is playing with a lot of maturity. You can see training with the first team and being around their programme consistently is definitely helping him in a lot of areas of his game. Credit to all the staff who work behind the scenes in terms of managing him, all the sports science and medical staff.
“He’s a young man and maturing all the time as well. Sometimes we forget he’s going through those years of growth. But in terms of that maturity, it’s something we’ve definitely seen an improvement with on and off the pitch.”
Maturity is a footballing intangible that can’t be measured, but is a key part of shaping a youngster’s career. Lacey is driven, professional, and plays with maturity.
That’s the holy troika of striking the correct chord to reach his immense potential.
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