Man Utd academy: The rising stars from Carrington to watch out for

Manchester United’s academy has long been one of the best in world football at producing players who either feature in the first team for many years or go on to have good careers elsewhere.

There’s a reason why whenever the Red Devils concede a goal in a domestic cup competition, it seems to be scored by a player who came through their youth ranks. When you think of how many young starlets have been produced at Carrington, that myth starts to make more sense.

In October 2022, Man Utd reached 85 consecutive years of including an academy product in the matchday squad in every single game. That’s over 4,000 consecutive matches.

The current Man Utd squad boasts regular first-team players like Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo and Scott McTominay, while the likes of Willy Kambwala and Facundo Pellistri have also featured occasionally this season.

Here’s a look at the players impressing the most in the Man Utd youth squads and those who could break out at Old Trafford soon.

Joe Hugill is currently away from the Man Utd academy on loan, which could be a sign that he is being prepared for potential future involvement in the first-team.

The 20-year-old scored an excellent goal just three minutes into his Burton Albion debut to immediately endear himself to the fans but has been the best striker in Man Utd’s academy for a number of seasons now.

With Burton sitting towards the bottom of League One, he is sure to learn a lot about first-team football in the coming months.

This loan isn’t the beginning of the end of his time at Man Utd, as he penned a new contract just before departing. Hugill is yet to play for the first-team in a competitive game but has made four matchday squads and scored against Leeds United in a pre-season friendly.

During his time in the Under-18s, Hugill played 24 times and scored 18 goals, which saw him swiftly move into the Under-21s. There, he has played 57 times and got 31 goals, showing his knack for scoring. If the loan goes well, he could be in line for first-team minutes in the 2024/25 season.

One of the reasons why Man Utd Under-21s could let Hugill go out on loan is Charlie McNeill’s presence. Another striker, he has been posting superb numbers in the youth ranks and would like to be battling Hugill for minutes in the first-team in the future.

McNeill began the 2023/24 term on loan at Stevenage, scoring on his debut, but began struggling for game time and was eventually brought back to Old Trafford having started only three League One games. He had previously spent time on loan at Newport County but only scored three goals in 20 appearances.

He may have struggled away from the academy setting but his goal record for the Under-18s is incredible, bagging 34 goals in 35 games before then getting ten in 38 for the Under-21s.

McNeill is finding this stage of his development a bit harder than Hugill, but there is clearly a talented striker there who would be in line for first-team minutes if Erik ten Hag suddenly had an injury crisis in attack to deal with.

Young Daniel Gore seems much closer to meaningful first-team minutes with Man Utd right now than the two previously mentioned players, largely thanks to the number of injuries of late.

The 19-year-old central midfielder has been at Man Utd for his entire career, racking up 67 appearances across the Under-18s and the Under-21s. A tidy little midfielder, Gore has four goals for the Under-21s along with five assists and has featured for the first team on two occasions, playing half an hour of the Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace at the start of 2023/24 as well as a brief cameo in the 3-2 Premier League victory over Aston Villa in December.

Along with Kobbie Mainoo, Gore’s impressive performances during Man Utd’s pre-season matches helped him become a regular name on the substitutes bench. He has been naturally overshadowed by Mainoo, but Gore may have a role to play soon.

One of the most exciting young players in the Man Utd academy setup right now is Shea Lacey. At just 16 years old, there is less in the way of stats to go off for the attacking midfielder, but he looks pretty special.

Lacey has played primarily on the right wing for the Under-18s but has also featured in the centre and on the left. In 18 Under-18 matches, he has five goals and five assists and many fans are convinced he will be the next player to crop up on a Man Utd bench and eventually force his way into the team.

Man Utd’s Under-18s currently sit top of their league and the performances of Lacey have been a big part of that.

At the time of writing, Omari Forson is the most recent Man Utd academy player to make his first-team debut for the club, briefly coming off the bench in the FA Cup victory over Wigan Athletic.

Another attacking midfielder, Forson is a vital player for the Under-21s right now and has really stepped up since joining that age bracket. Playing predominantly on the right, he can operate in the middle and on the left. He got nine goals and nine assists in 43 Under-18s games, but in 36 Under-21s games, he has 15 goals and six assists.

It seems very likely that he will get some more minutes for the first team this season if other wingers continue to underperform, but Man Utd must make a decision on Forson soon as his contract runs out at the end of the season.

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