Darren Fletcher has his Manchester United U18s back in form, and this continued against Burnley on Tuesday afternoon in a 2-1 win.
While far from the domineering Manchester United U18 side of 2023/24, the current crop is certainly a thrill to watch.
After the winter break, United beat Derby in the FA Youth Cup fourth round, securing the 2-1 win in extra time, and it was another dramatic win this week as the league resumed.
United won against Burnley 2-1, with Darren Fletcher’s side waiting until added time to score the winner, having come up against another super goalkeeper performance.
In the game, there was one player who really impressed.
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Jayce Fitzgerald walking out for Manchester United.
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Louie Bradbury scores twice against Burnley for Manchester United
While United were frustrated by Burnley on Tuesday, the finishing of Louie Bradbury proved to be decisive in handing Darren Fletcher’s side all three points.
Last season across various youth levels, Bradbury scored 41 goals for United, and this season he has been prolific again for the U18s.
Louie Bradbury celebrates goal for Manchester United U18.
Photo by Zohaib Alam – MUFC/Manchester United via Getty Images
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After missing the start of the season due to injury, Bradbury was among the goals immediately upon his return and this continued against Burnley.
He opened the scoring at the end of the first-half, with an excellent finish after Nathaniel Junior Brown’s cross as he just poked it beyond the goalkeeper.
Burnley then equalised, but with the last kick of the game, Bradbury got the winner, converting JJ Gabriel’s low cross in a high pressure moment to show how good he is.
This season, in the U18 Premier League, Bradbury has only played 267 minutes of football, scoring four times which results in a goal every 66 minutes.
This bonkers record is incredibly impressive, in just three starts and one game when he has played 90 minutes. This goal rate will be impressing those important people higher up the club, and it might even put him ahead of Chido Obi for Michael Carrick.
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Chido Obi playing against Fulham U21
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Bradbury is more of a Michael Carrick striker than Chido Obi
Last week, Carrick was at Old Trafford and saw Obi score, however, he will have heard all about Bradbury, and in terms of suiting the demands of the current first team boss, the Welsh youth international is a better fit.
Bradbury is very mobile, a hard worker and a better runner than Obi, which could see him almost more of a Bryan Mbeumo number nine than Benjamin Sesko given the stature difference.
Obi is the more polished player, but as a profile we have seen Carrick not really favouring a big number nine, even at Middlesbrough.
Bradbury could therefore find himself the better fit under Carrick, with this also being good news for Gabriele Biancheri who could fit in really well as a number nine in this current system United are using.
It is interesting, all three are top prospects up front, but there is something about Bradbury as he begins to make scoring for the U18s look easy, he just needs to stay fit.
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