One Manchester United youngster has been called up to represent his national side in this international break, and could be in line for a World Cup call-up.
James Overy, 18, came through the Perth Glory academy in Australia, catching the eye of West Ham when he played a pre-season friendly against them in 2023 at just 15 years old.
Later in 2023, the young defender relocated to the United Kingdom and started playing for Newton Abbot Spurs’ first team in Devon.
After impressing for his new side, he signed for Manchester United in the summer of 2024, alongside other talents such as Chido Obi.
Unfortunately, he picked up an injury during pre-season in the summer, not making his debut for his new club until February of this year, coming off the bench for the Manchester United under-18s’ 2-2 draw against Liverpool.
Overy could be called up for Australia’s World Cup squad
Despite only making a couple of appearances for United’s Under-21s, Australia’s manager Tony Popovic revealed in a press conference that Overy could be in his World Cup squad next summer.
As reported by the Manchester Evening News, he said: “If they’re in the squad now they’re a chance for the World Cup. “Yes, there are some players that obviously can be more long-term prospects, can be prospects for after the World Cup, maybe the Asian Cup, certainly the next cycle.
“But it doesn’t rule them out of this World Cup coming up. And James is one of those. I watched him at the Under-20 World Cup. [Assistant coach] Paul Okon is very well aware of all the young players, having worked closely with those age groups, with the national team.
“So I knew what he could do. Watching him closely in Chile, I was impressed. In particular, coming in, playing the second match, and starting on the left – the youngest player there, starting at left-back.
“He showed a lot of composure, a lot of maturity for his age and then he went to the right in the third game. And then we started really monitoring him. We have good contacts at Man United so we know what he’s doing at training. We know how much he trains, how much he trains with the first team.
“He’s getting games at the Under 18s, the U21s. And I just thought he’s worth having a look at. And let’s see, I’m very open-minded with what that looks like for the immediate future and obviously long-term.”
Man Utd academy has too much talent for Amorim to ignore
Although Rúben Amorim has often brought Academy prospects into first-team training since joining the club, turning those training opportunities into minutes on the pitch has been a tougher challenge.
This season, despite several senior players struggling for form, opportunities for academy graduates have remained scarce. Amorim has mostly opted to stick with his experienced first-team regulars instead of giving younger players a chance in competitive games.
A major obstacle for United’s youth is the lack of available minutes caused by the absence of European football, following their defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in last season’s Europa League final.
With the Africa Cup of Nations kicking off next month, first-team players Bryan Mbeumo, Amad, and Noussair Mazraoui will all miss several league fixtures to represent their respective nations, so Amorim may have to call up some academy talent to feature in his squad and potentially make their senior debuts.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 14:00 pm (GMT) on the United View YouTube channel.