Jack Fletcher made his Manchester United debut last season and has shown signs he could be a very talented footballer, but he needs time.
Manchester United's current midfield situation is interesting...
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Manchester United are preparing for the new season, but they are still without several first-team players who remain on their post-World Cup holidays.
Shea Lacey is ready for first-team football. In fact, he has been for some time, but injuries have held him back from playing regularly. Against Brighton earlier in the season, Lacey was the best player on the pitch before his second yellow card saw him leave the action early.
If United want to keep JJ Gabriel at the club, he needs to play next season, too. While he is only 15 years old, Gabriel is a rare talent who cannot be considered like most other players. He needs to be given first-team opportunities, or he will leave and find them elsewhere.
Tyler Fletcher was handed his debut by Michael Carrick towards the end of last term. He only made two appearances, but looked promising in both – so promising that he was chosen to replace Billy Gilmour in Scotland's World Cup squad after the Napoli star picked up an injury in the friendly against Curacao.
Jack Fletcher, though, is a different story.
He made three appearances in the 2025/26 campaign – none of which were under Michael Carrick. He played 17 minutes alongside Lisandro Martínez in central midfield against Aston Villa, 45' against Newcastle United, and another half against Wolves before Rúben Amorim was sacked after the 1-1 draw against Leeds United.
Jack Fletcher is not a bad footballer – far from it. When he joined Manchester United from Manchester City alongside his brother, Tyler, Jack was widely seen as the better talent. However, Tyler has now leapfrogged him in the queue for minutes in the first team, but that is not necessarily Jack's fault, either.
Tyler is a defensive midfielder. He likes to break up play and recycle possession. Jack, on the other hand, plays his best football as a No.10 (while he can also play right wing and left-back). Jack has a great passing range, tidy feet and a lanky dribbling technique that gets him an extra yard past defenders. But there is no room for that at United.
If he were to play, Jack would be after Bruno Fernandes' position. Then would be the deep-lying playmaker role, now occupied by Kobbie Mainoo and Youri Tielemans. Amad and Bryan Mbeumo stand in his way on the right, too. Tyler could play as a defensive midfielder.
That is the only real difference, but it is a point that matters dearly.
Jack will not play enough senior football at Old Trafford next term. He will be stuck playing Under-21s football for another season instead of competing week in, week out in the professional game.
An EFL move would be excellent for Jack. League One or League Two, maybe even the Championship, would allow him to showcase his excellent technical skills while adapting to the physical nature of English football. He has already proved he could compete against those sides in the EFL Trophy in years gone by.
He just needs to play.