The international break gives everyone time to reflect on the season so far, despite it being three games, but the Man Utd academy record is already in peril and under scrutiny.
In a summer where Man Utd sold Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, and Kobbie Mainoo fell out of favour with Ruben Amorim, the situation is dire.
Against Fulham, Mainoo was the only academy graduate in the Man Utd squad, holding the flag for a record that began all the way back in October 1937.
It’s clear that Ruben Amorim needs to keep that record, but it’s also becoming obvious that Ineos must make a Carrington change to help the Man Utd manager do that.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim watches from the touchline during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Burnley at Old Trafford in 2025 in Manchester, England.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Ineos’ revolution missing key step at Man Utd
Of all the things for which you can criticise Ineos, their focus on youth development isn’t one of them.
Since arriving at the club, they have been on a mission to attract the best youngsters from elsewhere and incorporate them into an already thriving academy setup at Carrington.
Chido Obi, Diego Leon, Ayden Heaven, Samuel Lusale, and Sekou Kone are just some of the names recruited as youngsters.
Why, then, is the academy record in peril when the academy itself has never been in better shape?
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It’s because Ineos’ youth revolution is missing a key step, which is to align the academy teams as per the senior team setup.
Omar Berrada has stressed that the club is no longer dependent on the manager for transfers, but the playing philosophy needs to be holistic.
Amid Amorim’s faith in his back-three formation, the academy sides have continued to play in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1.
Man Utd’s academy is suffering from differing systems
While they are all numbers on the board at the end of the day, with player roles being more important, it’s impossible to ignore the effect a change of positions has on a young player.
United have some brilliant wingers in the squad like James Scanlon, Bendito Mantato, or even Shea Lacey, who will have to become No. 10s or wing-backs to break into the senior team.
Take, for example, Mantato, who is a Bukayo Saka-like talent with his left-footedness, making his name as an inverted right-winger.
Mantato is being groomed for a first-team role by being fielded as a left-back, because the senior team doesn’t play with wingers.
His long-term future might well be at wing-back, while the likes of Amir Ibragimov have had to reinvent themselves as deeper midfielders because the No. 10 position is loaded in the senior team.
Except for centre-backs, no other position has a clarity over their roles if and when these youngsters transition to the senior team.
A club should have a running philosophy from top to bottom, so the young players can walk into the senior team familiar with a setup they have been playing in all their career till that point.
Instead, at Old Trafford, youngsters have to learn a new position from scratch in an entirely different system when they come to the senior team.
Breaking into United’s senior team is difficult enough. There’s no reason why that should be made impossible by playing them in unfamiliar roles as well.