Young Carrick makes his Manchester United U18 debut! Former teammate of Rooney’s eldest son, following in the footsteps of four legendary academy graduates

On Saturday, young Carrick debuted for Manchester United’s U18 squad. This “new Carrick” isn’t a name-dropper trying to gain attention through association with legends; he genuinely is Carrick. Jacey Carrick is the son of Michael Carrick, who was a mainstay in Manchester United’s 2008 Premier League and Champions League double-winning side.

In the U18 match against Newcastle United’s youth team, young Carrick was included in the lineup and came on in the last 20 minutes of the second half, substituting the renowned “Little Messi” Gabriel. His debut was a successful one, as the team won 3-0 against the Magpies’ youth squad, overtaking them in the Premier League U18 North division to temporarily sit in second place, though still four points behind Manchester City with two extra matches played.

Young Carrick is a left-footed midfielder who has previously been selected for England’s U15 national youth team. On Saturday, Manchester United U18 coach Darren Fletcher included him in the official match squad for the first time. Earlier this summer, during Northern Ireland’s traditional “Milk Cup,” Jacey Carrick played alongside Wayne Rooney’s eldest son, Kai Rooney, representing Manchester United’s U16 youth team. During a friendly in Hong Kong this summer, Carrick captained the Manchester United youth team.

Records show that young Carrick also excelled in Manchester United’s U14 and U15 youth teams, helping both squads win national championships. He aspires to follow in his father’s footsteps by playing for Manchester United’s first team in the Premier League and Champions League and achieving great success.

It is worth noting that the Manchester United academy also includes the sons of two other club legends: U18 coach Darren Fletcher’s twin boys, Jack and Tyler Fletcher. Both came through Manchester City’s youth system before joining the Red Devils two years ago. To avoid any conflict of interest, Fletcher only began coaching the U18s after his sons advanced to the U21 squad.

However, whether these scions of famous football families will succeed at Manchester United remains uncertain. First-team manager Ruben Amorim is believed to lack trust in the club’s academy products, although he denies this. Nevertheless, homegrown players like Kobe Meno have seen limited opportunities, prompting club legend Paul Scholes to openly criticize Amorim.

Due to issues such as the “football hotel” outside Old Trafford and other factors, the once-proud 92-class youth players have grown distant, even hostile, toward the club. Scholes recently mentioned that he can’t even find familiar Manchester United officials when trying to buy tickets, while Nicky Butt revealed that the club nearly revoked his Old Trafford season ticket.

Scholes’ criticism of Amorim is the latest sign of this rift. “(Amorim) is talking nonsense! Kobe (Meno) is being destroyed, playing for a team that can’t control games. I hate to see local players leave, but for him, it might be the best option now. Enough is enough, seriously.”

Of course, club owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe places great importance on youth development; since acquiring the club, he has brought in over ten young players. However, Senegalese midfielder Mouhamed Dabo recently trialed with the club but failed to secure a contract.

According to reports, Dabo performed excellently during his trial and was even invited to watch a Manchester United match at Old Trafford. Yet, this week, he signed with Croatian second-division side NK Kustošija. Transfer expert Christopher Mitchell explained that this was because Manchester United recently signed Colombian midfielder Cristian Orozco, and the highly regarded 18-year-old talent Jim Thwaites, dubbed “Manchester United’s Pedri,” is also in the squad, leading the club to forgo signing Dabo.