Wayne Rooney sends message to Man United starlet, could make debut this season

Wayne Rooney has sent a message to one Manchester United starlet as he could make his debut for Erik ten Hag’s side this term.

There are many exciting talents within the current academy setup at United and they will hope to follow in the footsteps of Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.

A lot of those players need to make the transition from Under-18s to Under-21s football, and Jack Fletcher has had an impressive start this week.

The Under-21s faced League One side Barnsley, who finished sixth in the league last season, in their opening EFL Trophy game of the new campaign.

Despite being 2-0 down at halftime, the young Reds mounted a remarkable comeback to win 3-2, scoring all their goals in the final 10 minutes of the match.

Central midfielder Jack Fletcher scored twice, including the decisive winner and a potential goal-of-the-season candidate, with Harry Amass assisting the first goal.

The 17-year-old, whose father is United icon Darren Fletcher, joined the club at the start of last season with his brother Tyler from Manchester City and was a crucial player in Adam Lawrence’s treble-winning Under-18s team last season.

He took to Instagram after the impressive win earlier this week, writing, “What A Night! 🚀🎯”.

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Many teammates, including Ethan Wheatley and Toby Collyer, commented to congratulate the teenager on his performance. Wayne Rooney was another to offer a message to Fletcher.

Rooney is a former teammate of Darren and the club’s top goalscorer. He was clearly impressed with Fletcher’s long-range effort, simply commenting: “👏👏🙌”

The Plymouth manager could be getting to see more of the teenager in the future as he is clearly rated by those in the first-team setup.

Reports from midway through last season revealed that Erik ten Hag was impressed by Fletcher’s efforts in training and that a plan was set in motion to accelerate his development.

Should he continue to perform as he did against Barnsley throughout the season, it would be no surprise to see him be provided opportunities in Ten Hag’s squad during cup games.

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