Adam Lawrence left his role as U18 boss at the end of last season and Man Utd are close to finalising his replacement.
Darren Fletcher has worked with the first-team.(Image: 2025 Getty Images)
Darren Fletcher is in talks to become Manchester United's new Under-18 manager.
The Manchester Evening News exclusively revealed in May that Adam Lawrence was set to depart at the end of the season and Fletcher has been identified as a potential successor.
Fletcher is currently a first-team coach within Ruben Amorim's backroom staff. The former midfielder has been regarded as an important conduit between the academy and the senior squad due to his knowledge of the academy, so United believe Fletcher would be a strong fit for the U18 job.
The 41-year-old wants to explore a career in management. Fletcher was previously reluctant to take an academy role due to his twin sons, Jack and Tyler, being in the system, but they have now progressed as players.
Fletcher initially returned to Old Trafford in 2020 to take up a minor academy role, and he was appointed as the club's inaugural technical director in March 2021 before being relocated following Sir Jim Ratcliffe's investment.
After Ratcliffe acquired a minority stake, he hired Jason Wilcox as technical director - Wilcox was recently promoted to director of football - and Fletcher became a first-team coach.
Lawrence's departure was unrelated to the club-wide redundancies, and he said that it was a "privilege" to work for United when he released a statement confirming his exit.
Lawrence oversaw a treble with the U18s in 2023/2024, winning two trophies at the expense of rivals Man City, and he targeted winning the prestigious FA Youth Cup last season.
However, the U18s were knocked out by Aston Villa at Villa Park on penalties in the Youth Cup semi-finals at the end of March. Villa went on to win the competition against Manchester City.
The U18s finished second in the Premier League North last term.
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