One of the most esteemed academies in world football is Manchester United’s Carrington.
You can go back as far in footballing history as you’d like; United have always produced some top academy graduates.
In recent years, there have been a couple of stars really flying the flag for the Red Devils academy. The main name that springs to mind is Marcus Rashford, who is now plying his trade at Barcelona, where he is flying.
For his boyhood club, the Wythenshawe-born sensation racked up 426 appearances, scoring 138 goals and assisting 79.
Marcus-Rashford-man-united-premier-league
Man Unites star Marcus Rashford
Kobbie Mainoo is a more recent example. He was brought through by Erik ten Hag, although the Dutchman was quite ruthless when it came to giving academy stars a chance.
The best academy prospects let go under Ten Hag's management
It is naturally quite hard to break into the first team of a club the size of United. There were a few players, like Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho, who Ten Hag gave a platform to. Yet, others didn’t make the cut and were sold by the former United boss, only to thrive at other clubs.
garnacho-mainoo-man-united
Someone who certainly fits that bill is Alvaro Carreras. The 22-year-old completed a move to Real Madrid this summer after shining at Benfica. He never actually played a first-team game at Old Trafford, with Ten Hag opting against giving him a debut.
He moved to Portugal permanently last summer after a loan spell in 2023/24, before joining Los Blancos in 2025. He's started every La Liga game under Xabi Alonso, operating at left-back and even as a centre-back.
alvaro-carreras-real-madrid
Anthony Elanga could also come under the same category. Despite thriving under Ralf Rangnick and scoring a huge goal away to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, he only played 26 times under Ten Hag before moving to Nottingham Forest.
This summer, he switched to Newcastle United for a massive £55m fee but is yet to find the net for the Toon.
Both players could quite realistically have made it in a different era. The same could be said of United's new Paul Scholes. At least that was how he was described at the time.
Ten Hag let go of Man Utd's 'next Scholes'
There is no doubt that, over the years, some of the academy sales made under Ten Hag have been blunders. The decision to move Carreras on, for example, must sting United fans given how well he is doing in Madrid.
When the Red Devils decided not to renew Shola Shoretire’s contract back in 2024, it brought an end to a United career that saw the Newcastle-born midfielder become the youngest player to appear for the club in a European match, aged 17 years and 23 days old.
It's safe to say that in his younger days, the former United number 47 was incredibly highly rated.
Stephen Rutherford, the director of football at his junior club, said that he "would compare Shola to Paul Scholes," which is high praise indeed.
Shoretire
Shoretire’s record for United’s academy was impressive. In the Premier League 2, he played 61 times, scoring 29 goals and assisting a further 18 goals. He operated all over the midfield and even out on the wing.
Shoretire record per season in PL2
Season
2020/21
2021/22
2022/23
2023/24
Stats from Transfermarkt
Unfortunately for Shoretire, he could only rack up five first-team appearances at Old Trafford. A loan spell to Bolton Wanderers saw him get first-team opportunities, but he left Old Trafford upon the expiration of his contract in 2024.
He joined Greek side PAOK on a free transfer, and now plays on loan for PEC Zwolle in the Netherlands. Those Scholes comparison feel like a long time ago now.
Under Ten Hag, the 21-year-old only featured on the bench four times. Despite his excellent form in the academy, the Dutchman never gave Shoretire more of an opportunity to showcase his skills at senior level.
Shola-Shoretire-Manchester-United
This might always be one that United fans look back on and think, what could have been. Their youngest-ever European player was clearly very talented, and to be compared to Scholes is no mean feat.
Perhaps, if he’d have been given more of a platform by Ten Hag, he could have proven his worth at United.