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Manchester United have another talented crop of young talent | Manchester United
The Man Utd youngster could be given a chance to showcase his talents in the coming months.
It can be quite hard to stay grounded when analysing the latest crop of Manchester United youngsters.
From a young age, they are put under immense scrutiny and described with every superlative before they have even represented the first-team squad. It is a feeling Shea Lacey will know all about already.
At the age of 18, he is one of the most impressive talents in the club's academy and is looking to make up for lost time after so much time on the sidelines. He trained with the first team at the age of 16, but has been ravaged by injury, particularly during a nightmare 14-month spell filled with constant injury issues.
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Lacey finally returned to action earlier in the year and looked good for the U18s in the final months of their previous campaign. His reward was a place in Ruben Amorim's squad for the post-season tour of Asia, before another injury setback ruled him out of the pre-season tour.
A month into the new season, he is making headlines again. Lacey was the standout performer and scored a brilliant goal as a youthful side drew 1-1 with the PFA Pre-Season team at Carrington on Wednesday to cap a fine few days in his career. He made his first appearance of the season for the U21s last weekend as they defeated Man City in the Premier League 2, his first appearance in the competition. That tells you just how little he has played.
"Listen, everybody in the world knows about Shea Lacey," Travis Binnion said after the derby win. "So he needs a little bit of fortune, he needs to be patient with himself and everybody else needs to be really patient with him.
"He is in the same sort of area as Chido because of time lost. Different to Chido, Chido is fast progression. Because of time lost with Shea, he still has lots to come tactically, physically and mentally. Everybody can see - you have to be blind not to see - the talent he's got. He's got lots to do in his game and he knows. We're still managing him physically because if he can stay on the pitch and can train every day, I think everyone thinks he could be a top, top player."
It might not be what some want to hear, but Binnion is right: patience is the key. Lacey will learn a lot from regular involvement with the U21s this season and is at a slight disadvantage given the failings at the senior level last season. Without any European football or League Cup involvement, there are few opportunities for United youngsters to get the playing time others have benefited from in the past.
🏴🚨 | 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐀 𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐘 (𝟏𝟖) with a brilliant 𝐆𝐎𝐀𝐋 in a friendly vs PFA
What a Talent 🪄
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— Rising Stars XI (@RisingStarXI) September 3, 2025
Lacey is also in competition with the likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, Amad Diallo, Mason Mount, Bruno Fernandes and Joshua Zirkzee for his favoured role as a right-sided attacking midfielder, a role that is so important to their tactical approach under Amorim.
It means he will have to perform at an exceptional level and stay injury-free if he is to have any chance of making it at the first-team level, though it might not be impossible. United are expected to be without both Mbeumo and Amad due to their involvement at the Africa Cup of Nations later this year, and that could open up a spot in the first-team squad for a youngster to get an opportunity.
That does not necessarily mean Lacey can expect any game time, but he is already on Amorim's radar and could be required to boost the numbers in training or be a reserve option on matchdays while the two stars are away on international duty.
If that happens, it only takes 'a little bit of fortune' and he could find himself on the pitch.
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