Wayne Rooney has made his feelings clear about one of Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United shortcomings after his son Kai made his debut at Old Trafford
Ruben Amorim accused of ignoring Man United’s young players (Image: Getty)
Wayne Rooney has admitted he is frustrated by Ruben Amorim’s apparent disregard for Manchester United’s academy. There has been much debate about the contrast between Mr. Amorim and United’s tradition of developing young talent throughout his 14-month period as head coach, with detractors claiming that he does not understand the club’s traditions.
Since the Portuguese manager was sacked and club legend Michael Carrick was appointed interim manager until the summer, many have been excited by his enthusiasm for the club’s youth set-up, which mirrors Sir Alex Ferguson’s approach.
Amorim rarely turned to his homegrown stars, with Koby Mainu among the players he missed. Carrick, by contrast, watched the under-21s last week and appears to be leaning on young players who already have “the club’s DNA”.
Carrick’s own son plays for the under-16 team, and the families of other young players feel their offspring will be given better opportunities given the former midfielder’s great acumen. That includes Carrick’s former teammate Rooney, whose sons Kai and Clay are also in United’s youth ranks.
Follow Man United’s FB page! Keep up with the latest United news and more on our dedicated Facebook page
The iconic forward witnessed United defeat Derby in the FA Youth Cup on Friday and made his anger clear at Amorim’s methods while praising Carrick, who was with Rooney in the directors’ box at Old Trafford.
read more: Coleen points out Wayne Rooney’s embarrassing gaffe during Kai’s Old Trafford debutread more: Michael Carrick forced to stop Manchester United training ahead of Arsenal’s stunning win
Rooney said on the BBC’s podcast: “It’s great to see all the coaches taking a huge interest in the academy. It’s important that they take that interest because some of those players may get first-team opportunities in the next few years.”
“They also played in an Under-16s game on Saturday before heading to London, so it’s great to see that back at the club.”
“I’ve been quite vocal about this. It used to be the norm, but in the last few years it’s gone. We’ve had two players in the academy so that hasn’t been the case and it was a bit disappointing.”
Wayne Rooney is happy to see young players being given a chance (Image: The Wayne Rooney Show)
“It gives the players and the players’ parents a boost to see a first-team manager there. That’s how clubs should be run.”
On Friday, Kai made his first appearance at Old Trafford, coming off the bench in United Under-18s’ 2-1 victory over Derby. The 16-year-old graduated to the Under-18 team earlier this season.
Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily Manchester United content from Mirror Football. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can always check out. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Sky Sports Premier League and EFL package discounts
£43
£35
sky
Get the deal here
Sky has reduced the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 on their bill and offering more than 1,400 live matches from the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will broadcast at least 215 live Premier League matches next season, with an increase of up to 100 more.
