So far this season, Ruben Amorim has refrained from throwing promising Manchester United academy wonderkids into the deep end.
Last season, the head coach had handed debuts to three promising youngsters — Chido Obi, Harry Amass, and Tyler Fredricson.
It was expected that the Portuguese would turn to the academy more in his sophomore campaign in England, but that has not proven to be the case so far.
All that could change on Sunday, with Centredevils claiming that Amorim called up Shea Lacey for first team training on Saturday with the main group.
Shea Lacey part of first team training
On Friday, quite a few youngsters had got the call-up owing to the former Sporting CP boss giving off-days to a few overworked senior stars.
But on Saturday, everyone returned to training, including Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, and Amad. And Shea Lacey was the only Carrington wonderkid to return.
“CentreDevils can exclusively reveal Shea Lacey trained with Manchester United’s first team today and that he was the only academy player who was with the senior group.
“Unlike yesterday, eight academy talents were given the opportunity to train with the first team, with one of them being the 18-year-old.
“We can also reveal that the players who rested in yesterday’s sessions all returned today, including Bruno Fernandes, Manuel Ugarte, Casemiro, and Amad.
Inching closer to debut
“It is interesting that the English international was the only one of those eight who trained today, showing that he is getting much closer to his debut.”
Whether the 18-year-old earns his debut at Anfield, or if he makes it to the bench remains to be seen. But he is inching closer to his debut.
If not on Sunday, there is a good chance the England U20 international might get the call-up during the Africa Cup of Nations, when Amad and Bryan Mbeumo are expected to depart on international duty.
He has already trained with the England senior team, and coaches have been raving about him for a long time. Now, for the left-footed attacker to grab his chance when it comes.
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Ayantan Chowdhury
After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
