16-year-old JJ Gabriel has left Manchester United’s academy and is training in Madrid while he waits for the formalities to settle in at Real Madrid. One of the best academies in England with the “Class of 92” (Beckham and the gang) has lost much of its luster over the past decade, where the club’s success in developing young players almost dried up completely. However, there is a big bright spot.
Marcus Rashford, Scott McTominay and Kobbie Mainoo are the only players out of United’s academy to have had long spells in the first team during that period, but none of them fall into the same world class as the likes of Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham. Instead, United have spent too much money on big names to try and recapture their glory days – an approach that has failed spectacularly.
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Now, hype is once again building around a teenager in a Manchester United shirt. 19-year-old Shea Lacey has already been on the pitch for six games, with the highlight against Roma in the Champions League. Sixteen minutes into the game, a substitution that injected high-intensity offensive initiative into the United attack, topped off with the assist of match-winner Matheus Cunha in the 86th minute.
For a struggling Man Utd, the 19-year-old brings creativity and penetration in the final third of the pitch. He is direct, totally fearless, already mature in the game, extremely passable, duel strong, tenacious and has the ability to win balls for United high up the pitch.
Michael Carrick of course praised his young right winger, match-winner Mateheus Cunha went even further, when he turned the focus away from himself and on the 19-year-old after the 3-2 win against Roma:
“Unbelievable, Shea is a young guy. He comes from the academy, and we saw that ‘the stadium brought him’. I feel like they’re part of the family, they follow him from the start, and yes, we want to help him push him to be the player everyone wants. And yes, him in the Champions League gives the first assist. I feel like being a part of this is something incredible,” Cunha told MUTV.
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Manchester United must be careful not to put too much pressure on a 19-year-old, but all the early signs suggest that he will not let anything take him off course – towards something big at Old Trafford.
