Manchester United s third right winger has been decided! Foden s youth training performance conquered Amorin and is expected to make his debut at the end of the year

Manchester United's once exciting young player Shea Lacey has become a regular in first-team training. Although his attention and even the nickname of "New Messi" are gradually being replaced by another younger England striker Gabriel.

18-year-old Lacey's more realistic title is "Manchester United's Phil Foden", and he is also often compared with Manchester United legendary captain Wayne Rooney, mainly because they combine superb skills, dribbling and tenacious perseverance. But their positions are completely different, Lacey mainly plays as the right winger and occasionally plays as an attacking midfielder.

Lacey had occasionally participated in Manchester United's first team training as early as the age of 16 and signed his first professional contract in April 2024, but his momentum was hampered by injuries last season.

Last year, a serious thigh injury hindered Lacey's progress, and he had some minor problems after his comeback. In addition, even in youth football, the young player is short and he has been waiting for his physical development to be able to adapt to his skills.

But Lacey has been healthy lately. In a warm-up match between Manchester United and the free agent United organized by the PFA Professional Players Union this month, Lacey, wearing the No. 7 jersey, scored a wonderful goal. He stopped the opponent's clearance high ball in front of the penalty area and shot the ball into the net with a left foot arc.

Manchester United insiders revealed that the young player trained with the first team on Wednesday and Thursday. British media said Lacey impressed coach Ruben Amorin and other coaches.

While this doesn't necessarily mean he will be on the first team immediately, sources believe the teenager will definitely make his first team debut sometime this season, especially if he can avoid injury.

Amorin allegedly told Lacey that he is now the team's third right winger, only behind Mbemo and Amad Diallo. However, for Lacey and other young Manchester United players, the main problem this season is that the young players are bound to lack opportunities due to the loose schedule.

Manchester United failed to qualify for European competitions this season, and was embarrassedly eliminated by Grimsby in the second round of the League Cup, with several games missing. Now, Manchester United only has the Premier League to play for the rest of the year, and will only have more games after the FA Cup starts in January next year.

In addition, Lacey is a left-footed winger and likes to cut in from the right. This style of play is the same as Mbemo and Amadre. Therefore, even if he is listed as the third right winger, the ranking may not be third, because Amorin may also arrange right-footed players to play in this position, such as Mason Mount, Bruno Fernandez, etc.

However, there is one period that may give him a chance, that is, the schedule during Christmas and early New Year, when both Mbemo and Amad will play in the African Cup of Nations, representing Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire's national teams respectively, so that Lasi can hope to at least get a chance to participate in the bench.

Of course, in the long run, it is not easy for Lace to make a name for himself at Manchester United. After all, his two right winger rivals, Mbemo and Amad, are only 26 and 23 years old, and are in their year of playing. Especially Mbemo, who attended Brentford last season!

Another obstacle to the development of young people like Lacey cannot be ignored. Premier League transfer expert Graeme Bailey pointed out that given the huge pressure Amorin is under, he may not be able to reuse youth training players. It reported that Lacey and other Manchester United youth players may consider loaning in the winter transfer window in January next year to seek more first-team opportunities. "Lacey's performance at Carrington is impressive. So if he hasn't entered the first team coached by Amorin by January next year, the club is considering letting him out for exercise on loan."