One Manchester United starlet produced an ‘excellent’ performance for the club’s Under-21s side this week which will grab the attention of Ruben Amorim.
Manchester United’s academy is brimming with exciting young talent, thrilling fans eager to discover the club’s next breakout star.
While 14-year-old JJ Gabriel has recently made headlines with standout displays for the Under-18s, it was Shea Lacey who initially captured the spotlight. The gifted left-footed winger impressed supporters and coaches alike with his exceptional close control and technical brilliance.
Now 18, Lacey made a strong impression during Ruben Amorim’s first-team post-season tour of Asia last summer, though an untimely injury sidelined him for the subsequent pre-season.
After enduring a challenging period with injuries over the past two years, he now appears to be regaining momentum. This season, Lacey has begun to shine once again in training with the first-team and in games for the Under-21s.
United starlet sends message to Amorim with ‘excellent’ display
Lacey completed his first full 90-minute game at the back-end of September in an EFL Trophy game against Lincoln City and he did the same this week in the same competition against Notts County.
United’s U21s won 2-0 against the League One outfit on Tuesday evening and Lacey scored the opener for the Reds in that game with a powerful shot towards the near post, assisted by Chido Obi.
That wasn’t the only impressive moment from Lacey on the night, with the 18-year-old’s close control a joy to behold during his ‘excellent’ display. He regularly fed through his teammates making over or underlapping runs and also demonstrated a range of passes, with some well-struck switches of play.
Lacey has been impressing behind-the-scenes in training and it feels like he is bringing that confidence to the U21s games he plays now.
Amorim and Lacey have one-to-one talks
Amorim is taking a ‘hands-on approach’ with Lacey and his progression towards first-team football, according to MailSport.
The United boss has not afforded much time on the pitch for academy talent this season, partly due to the lack of European football, but Lacey is becoming hard to ignore.
The aforementioned report also mentioned how Amorim and Lacey have had numerous one-to-one conversations around the training ground in recent weeks, with the youngster regularly involved in first-team training.
With Amad and Bryan Mbeumo both heading to AFCON next month, it would not be surprising to see Lacey named on the bench for United and he could possibly come on to make his debut.
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