Manchester United Under-21s were in action on Wednesday and Shea Lacey caught the eye
Shea Lacey caught the eye for Manchester United Under-21s
Manchester United prospect Shea Lacey backed up Reds’ Under-21 boss Travis Binnion’s praise with a stellar performance and a wonderful goal for the academy on Wednesday.
Lacey has long been touted as a player of real potential and after injury issues impacted his progress last season, he is now reminding everyone of his talent.
The 18-year-old came off the bench in the Premier League 2 derby with Manchester City at the weekend, coming close to scoring with his first touch before setting up Amir Ibragimov to net the winner in a 2-1 victory.
And Lacey stole the show for the Under-21s in a Carrington friendly with the PFA Pre-Season squad on Wednesday afternoon. The teenager produced a virtuoso display in midfield and scored United’s goal in the 1-1 draw when he curled home a wonderful effort into the top corner shortly before the break.
That cancelled out Connor Wickham’s opener for the visitors. The striker scored from the halfway line as he caught out United keeper Murdock with an audacious finish.
United also handed a first start at Under-21 level to summer signing Diego Leon, who played an hour as he adjusts to his new surroundings following his arrival from Paraguay. The 18-year-old full back was an unused sub in the EFL Cup defeat to Grimsby Town last week and is being handed minutes at academy level to help aid his progress.
But it was Lacey who grabbed the attention with a display that merited the praise lavished on him by Binnion over the weekend.
“Listen, everybody in the world knows about Shea Lacey,” said Binnion after United U21s beat City on Sunday.
“So he needs a little bit of fortune, he needs to be patient with himself and everybody else needs to be really patient with him.
“He is in the same sort of area as Chido because of time lost. Different to Chido, Chido is fast progression. Because of time lost with Shea, he still has lots to come tactically, physically and mentally.
“Everybody can see – you have to be blind not to see – the talent he’s got. He’s got lots to do in his game and he knows. We’re still managing him physically because if he can stay on the pitch and can train every day, I think everyone thinks he could be a top, top player.”