Revealed: Michael Carrick's Shea Lacey Starting Stance vs Aston Villa
Fresh off a Champions League heroics, Michael Carrick weighs the hype surrounding academy star Shea Lacey against the tactical demands of a resurgent Aston Villa side.
Michael Carrick must become more flexible.
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After a barren nine-game run without a win, Manchester United returned to winning ways in the Champions League with a 3-2 comeback win over Roma.
Despite the positivity surrounding the club after a much-needed win, another huge challenge is coming Michael Carrick's way as they host Aston Villa.
The Villains had a poor start to the season, but have slowly grown into the season and are beginning to look back to their best of last season.
Even though they lost the likes of Youri Tielemans, Ezri Konsa, Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Martinez, their new summer signings Nicholas Jackson, Johan Manzambi, Zion Suzuki and Ibrahim Mbaye have especially taken to life in Birmingham like ducks to water.
Carrick to be patient with Lacey
Shea Lacey has long been touted as one of the best up-and-coming talents from the Manchester United academy for years, but a bad run of injuries and a red card last season have slowed down his progress.
But this season, the Englishman has announced himself in the senior side with brilliant cameos. Against Brighton, he scored a well-taken goal on his first-ever start, but it was the recent fixture against Roma where he stole the headlines.
It was his well-placed pass to unlock the Italian defence and slip through to Matheus Cunha before he smashed the winner into the near post. But aside from this, the winger was everywhere on the pitch, from tracking back, hounding down players when pressing, and generally making the right decisions when he had the ball.
There have been many calls from fans and pundits alike for Lacey to start against Villa, but Carrick has called for patience regarding Lacey's development.
When speaking to Manchester United club media he said: "It’s probably the first time he’s come into a game [this season] that was in the balance like that. We’ve got a lot of trust in him.
"He’s a fantastic young player and there’s still an element of being patient and looking after him, gradually developing and helping him as he goes. But he’s in a really good place at the moment."
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Best time to start him
While patience is needed with any academy player, and the pressure to start every game is something that should not be placed on Lacey's shoulders, this could be the best time to start him in the league.
Not only would it be at Old Trafford, where he would have the immediate support of the crowd, but Manchester United are also coming off the back of a win, meaning some of the pressure to finally end the winless run is off the team's shoulders. The club can ride the wave of positivity rather than starting off the back of a loss, and the mood is sour.
Another reason to start him is that Amad, at the moment, is missing that final product or confidence in general with his game. When the Ivorian is at his best, he takes on defenders in one-on-ones, but even that is missing at the moment.
On the other hand, Lacey would be full of confidence in every aspect of his game and ultimately would have the hunger of an academy product to impress the crowd and Carrick. Given his exploits against Roma, this could be the best time to start him or, at the very least, give him a bigger cameo if the side is struggling.
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