Rúben Amorim has called up five of Manchester United’s Academy stars to first-team training as preparations continue to face Crystal Palace.
Manchester United are set to finish their November programme with a challenging Sunday lunchtime Premier League visit to Crystal Palace.
Rúben Amorim’s Reds had been unbeaten in five matches, but that sequence ended with a flat 1-0 defeat to Everton on Monday evening, despite David Moyes’ team going down to ten men after only 15 minutes.
United had an opportunity to move up to fourth over the weekend, yet the loss at Old Trafford leaves them 10th and level on points with Tottenham, Everton and Liverpool.
Even so, they sit just three points behind Aston Villa in fourth, and the tightly packed table means every side from fifth to 12th can still believe a Champions League push is achievable.
Amorim calls five young stars to training
On Friday afternoon, Amorim confirmed that all three of Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Šeško, and Harry Maguire would not be available to face Oliver Glasner’s men due to injury.
With this in mind, the United boss called up five of the club’s most talented Academy stars for Friday’s training session, with the team expected to travel down to London on Saturday afternoon.
U18 stars JJ Gabriel, Noah Ajayi, Godwill Kukonki, Shea Lacey, and Jim Thwaites all took part in first-team training, pictured by the club’s official cameras.
While it’s well established that players such as Lacey and Kukonki are well appreciated by the United boss, this is the first time the club has released official images of 15-year-old Gabriel with the first team.
Lacey most likely next in line for debut
Gabriel is arguably the most talented player to be emerging from the club’s Academy in a long time, but another starlet who has been well known within the ranks as a future possible world-beater is 18-year-old Lacey.
The English talent was recently spotted training with Thomas Tuchel’s first team England squad in October and with the England U21s earlier this month, with his talent shining through at every moment.
Although injuries have been a significant problem during the formative years of his young career, all accounts indicate the player has improved in this regard so far this season, and he was rightfully included in the squad that faced Everton on Monday.
With both Amad and Bryan Mbeumo expected to depart United for the African Cup of Nations in the coming weeks, this vacates the young star’s favoured position on the right flank.
A first start may be out of the question until next season, but it’s widely thought within football circles that Lacey’s senior debut is almost inevitable before the end of the year.
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