Manchester United are a club built on the foundations of academy players. They have been missing from the opening two games of the season.
We are just two games into the season, and yet there is real reason for Manchester United fans to be alarmed.
This is not down solely to the fact United have gained just one point so far. The concern is that one of the most unique records in world football is at risk.
Kobbie Mainoo warms up wearing green Adidas bib.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Manchester United academy record
Manchester United hold a truly remarkable record with academy players dating back to a match in 1937.
Since then, at least one academy player has featured in a matchday squad for a league game, in every single match.
This is a record that spans more than 4,000 consecutive matches. It is one the club are immeasurably proud of, with more than 250 players progressing through from the academy to the first team.
0 minutes given to academy players
Across the first two games of the Premier League season, Manchester United have given a total of zero minutes to academy players.
It follows Marcus Rashford being loaned out to Barcelona, and Kobbie Mainoo being kept as an unused substitute.
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Mainoo is one of three academy graduates who made the bench, along with Tyler Fredricson and Tom Heaton.
But amid rumours linking Kobbie Mainoo with a departure from the club, there could be one fewer academy talent to call on.
Perhaps most concerning though, is that no academy players are featuring in the XI itself.
Manchester United have forged an identity through the years based around the club’s academy stars, from the Busby Babes, to the Class of ’92, to more recently Kobbie Mainoo starting and scoring the winner in the 2024 FA Cup Final.
Seeing the club line up for two games without any academy players, not even used from the bench, is disconcerting, especially when results are poor.
The narrative may switch when United involve youngsters against Grimsby in the Carabao Cup, but this is more likely to be an exception to the rule.
In this regard Ruben Amorim is playing with fire, because if United lose their identity, as well as results, supporters will rapidly lose faith too.
Danny Simpson says exits ‘sad’
Speaking to the Beyond The Back Four podcast, former academy talent Danny Simpson is unhappy with the way it is going.
Simpson says he would prefer Mainoo to be loaned than sold, before surmising: “It would be very sad.”
“But again, I think that just goes to show the way football is going now, with these new PSR rules and the money that the clubs will get off selling academy players is something that I don’t like.”
United cashed in on academy mainstay Scott McTominay in 2024, who went on to win the Serie A title with Napoli.