Manchester United’s Shay Lacey is poised to break out into the first team in the coming weeks. With Brian Mbeumo and Amad set to depart for the African Cup of Nations, manager Ruben Amorim is keen to strengthen his attacking line-up, with the 18-year-old winger looking increasingly likely to make his senior debut for the club he has supported since childhood. And he was included in the squad for Monday night’s Premier League game against Everton due to an injury to Matheus Cunha.
Even before competing for a spot on the main team, Lacey already had a sizable following on social media. His rise through the academy attracted significant attention online, with clips of his performances frequently going viral. Lacey, who once won the player of the match award over Ramin Yamal in his youth, got his first taste of senior football during a summer post-season tour of Asia with Amorim’s team. The England youth international has impressed and secured a place in United’s pre-season squad, with club officials reportedly excited about his progress.
Lacey rejoined the Under-21s at the start of the new Premier League season and has since scored three goals and provided two assists in nine games. Mbeumo and Amad are set to take part in the African Cup of Nations next month, and it looks like the young starlet’s senior debut is just around the corner.
The Portuguese coach has previously expressed his faith in the teenager and asserted that he is ready to “step up”.
Ahead of the Reds’ clash with David Moyes’ side, Amorim was asked how he plans to deal with the departures of Mbeumo and Amad. He admitted, “I think it’s going to be tough, but that’s the good thing about this experience.
“Last year we lived with so many constraints. We made changes in January and didn’t bring players, then Amad was injured for four months. All that. We’re ready for it. It’s going to be difficult for us, but we have a different baggage to deal with.”
“Guys like Jack Fletcher and Shay (Lacey) can step up. At the same time, we can send a message to everyone here at the academy that this is the future. But we’re going to struggle and we need to be ready for that.”
Regarding the academy, Amorim added: “First of all, I am not preparing the academy, they are preparing the academy. We are paying more attention to them, we are talking to them. It is very important to change the information about the players, what they need and how they are behaving.”
“If you want to call a kid into the first team, you have to behave really well. This connection is really important. We are trying to do that. We are putting everything in place. Nutrition is for the academy. It starts now. That should be the basis at our club.”
“So we are doing all these things and they are doing their job. I have more confidence in them because I have spent more time with them in training. If you play them in the Premier League they will struggle, but I think it will be less of a struggle. Everyone in the academy is doing very well at the moment.”
Lacey is represented by the same talent management company that looks after Wayne Rooney. And the United legend was more than aware of the teenager’s potential, calling him earlier this year and saying: “You’re doing great things, keep doing what you’re doing.”
The United prospect was called up by manager Thomas Tuchel to train with England at St George’s Park during the international break. When asked about Lacey’s development, Amorim claimed to be happy with his progress.
“I’m really happy for him. I think he’s struggled a bit with injuries,” the United manager said. I was able to balance my body and do it very well. You can see that he is now able to manage more load during training.
“He has a lot of talent, but when he comes here, the speed feels completely different. So they need to spend more time with us and prepare, because our training is hard, but the Premier League games are even harder, where the pressure is on, so they need to be ready.”
