Manchester United’s U21 side were in action on Friday night, picking up where the senior side left off on Thursday night.
It was a good night for Travis Binnion’s academy side, picking up a huge 5-1 win, moving to sixth in the Premier League 2 in the process.
The Manchester United academy side thrashed 18th-place West Brom at the Leigh Sports Village, with a strong side named comprising some of the U18s very best players from this season.
It paid off too, with Bendito Mantato stepping up to the level perfectly with a goal and two assists.
Goals also went in from James Scanlon and Gabriele Biancheri, while Jack Fletcher scored two.
During such an impressive win, there were several standouts with one player in particular sending a message to Ruben Amorim.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Jack Fletcher sends message to Ruben Amorim
Thursday night saw Jack Fletcher sit on the bench at Old Trafford for the entire 90 minutes, once again not getting onto the pitch.
Despite this disappointment, he didn’t let it affect him as he started for the U21s on Friday night.
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Fletcher – as usual for the academy – was a standout as he scored twice, taking his season tally to eight goals and six assists, while not being permanent in the academy.
READ: Man Utd under-21s top scorers and assists in 2024/25, all results
Fletcher’s display proved his quality once again and will have given Amorim something to think about in terms of deciding whether or not he deserves a debut.
Goals Assists
U21 6 4
U18 2 2
One thing that is clear is that U21 football is not a challenge to him anymore and so with very little to lose, Amorim should be looking to give Fletcher his chance in the senior side over the next few months.
READ: Man Utd under-18s top scorers and assists in 2024/25, all results
Ruben Amorim should give Jack Fletcher his debut
Fletcher is a face regularly seen on the United bench behind Amorim as he is quite obviously one of the club’s very best talents with the club having high hopes. Wayne Rooney is said to be a fan of Fletcher, which should say a lot.
So with Amorim’s intention to trust in the future, it is time he committed to this by giving players like Fletcher the minutes at the end of games opposed to Christian Eriksen.
Fletcher has the legs, creativity and Statman Dave has claimed that after analysis into the midfielder, he learned that Fletcher has a higher expected assists tally than any other United midfielder, including any of his senior teammates.
The opposition levels are drastically different, but this just proves he deserves a chance. United have little to play for in the league and so we would love to see him get a chance.
Fletcher has been waiting for his chance patiently all season, but now is the time for Amorim to commit. It should be easy after how successful youngsters like Chido Obi and Ayden Heaven have been.
Could he be graduate 253?