Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim handed a debut to Jack Fletcher during Manchester United’s 2-1 Premier League defeat to Aston Villa
16:24, 22 Dec 2025Updated 16:28, 22 Dec 2025
Jack Fletcher of Manchester United replaces Benjamin Sesko for his first-team debut(Image: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
A popular Mayo Facebook page was celebrating after Manchester United handed 18-year-old Jack Fletcher his first-team debut at the weekend.
Fletcher has followed in the footsteps of his dad Darren by lining out for the Red Devils.
And although his dad played international football for Scotland, he was eligible to play for the Boys in Green – and so are his sons, twins Jack and Tyler.
We are unlikely to see either in the green jersey, however, as they have both represented England AND Scotland at underage level.
Jack even played against Ireland in a Victory Shield game for Scotland in Waterford three years ago, and more recently has lined out for England at under-19 level.
But that hasn’t stopped ‘What’s on in Achill’, a Facebook page with 54,000 followers, from celebrating another piece of local sporting heritage.
A post on Monday read: ‘Congratulations to Jack Fletcher, the latest Premier League footballer with strong Achill connections. His grandmother, Bridie, is from Dooagh, and Jack is a regular visitor to the island. His twin brother, Tyler is also a professional footballer with Manchester United.
‘18 year old Jack made his Premier League debut for Manchester United yesterday, marking an important milestone in his career. He now takes his place in a proud sporting lineage that includes his father Darren Fletcher, a UEFA Champions League Winner and 5 times Premier League Winner, former Ireland international Kevin Kilbane, and Women’s FIFA World Cup winner and Olympic gold medallist Rose Lavelle.
‘His twin brother, Tyler is also a professional footballer with Manchester United.
‘Another remarkable chapter in Achill’s long and varied sporting story.’
As the Mayo News reported, Edinburgh native Darren Fletcher remains proud of his Irish roots, despite winning 80 caps for the country of his birth.
The newspaper recalled how in 2013, an injured Fletcher attended the All-Ireland final between Mayo and Dublin instead of the Manchester derby.
It quoted him as saying: “I tried to play a little bit (of Gaelic football) when I used to come over on holidays – not very successfully. I was better when the ball was on the ground.
“It’s a really entertaining game and a really great sport to watch.”
Jack Fletcher came off the bench for Benjamin Sesko in the 73rd minute of United’s defeat to Villa, while Tyler recently signed a professional contract with the club.
The Fletchers’ achievement was noted on the official Manchester United website, where it was stated that it was just the second time in the club’s history that a father and son represented the club at first-team level.
‘The first history-makers are John Aston Snr and John Aston Jnr,’ it read.
‘The elder figure helped the side win the first trophy under Sir Matt Busby, the 1948 FA Cup, and was also part of a title-winning side four years later. The younger Aston was famously Man of the Match in the 1968 European Cup final win over Benfica.
‘This came the season after he also won the league with Busby’s men.’
There have been a few other close calls. Robbie Savage was part of the famous ‘Class of ‘92’, but he did not make a first-team appearance. His son Charlie did.
Darren Ferguson played for United’s first-team under his dad Alex. There have been other player/coach combinations, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s daughter Karna played for United Women.