The Man Utd youngsters to look out for in Finland and Norway

Shea Lacey made four substitute appearances for Manchester United last season [Getty Images] Manchester United's senior players have returned to Carrington for the start of pre-season training. The squad that assembled in front of newly installed head coach Michael Carrick and his coaching team on Thursday only partially resembles the group he will work with before the opening Premier League game of the 2026-27 campaign at Hull City on 22 August. None of the players selected for the World Cup are back yet. In addition, Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt is still working on his recovery from back surgery. Likely new recruits Andrey Santos and Karl Darlow are close to completing their moves from Chelsea and Leeds respectively, while there has been no clarity on Ederson's prospective move from Atalanta. However, for now, nine senior players have been pictured at Carrington, along with Carrick. As World Cup players are allowed three weeks' recovery from the point of their exit from the tournament, it means a number of youngsters are likely to get a chance to impress in United's first two pre-season games, against Wrexham in Helsinki on 18 July and Norwegian side Rosenborg in Trondheim on 24 July. The first pre-season friendly in the last tournament summer, against Rangers, was played a week after Euro 2024 finished - not a day before the World Cup ends as is the case this time around. Then United boss Erik ten Hag used 13 academy players. A further five travelled, but did not play. Seven of the 13 are no longer at the club and five have been loaned out at least once. Only Jack Fletcher, who featured as a second-half substitute, has spent the intervening two years exclusively at Old Trafford. Fletcher is one of only four of those youngsters to play for United's senior team since the Murrayfield trip. Fletcher has made three substitute appearances. Toby Collyer (13 appearances), Harry Amass (seven) and Ethan Wheatley (one) are the others. Being selected in Finland or Norway is evidently no guarantee of a smooth passage into the first team but, even so, United's young players will be aiming to impress. Here are a few to keep an eye on. Shea Lacey (forward) Shea Lacey, 19, played four times for United's first team last season including the final Premier League game at Brighton [Getty Images] United's under-21 coach Adam Lawrence revealed towards the end of last season that Lacey had become a fully fledged member of the senior squad at training and his involvement in age-group football was restricted to matches. There was speculation in the summer about a loan move but that feels unlikely given the high regard there is for Lacey, 19, at United and the belief among their academy coaches of the level he can reach. If there is a slight concern, it is where Lacey, an England Under-20 international, fits into Carrick's plans given he is a left-footed player who starts on the right and cuts in. Lacey is one of those who can propel himself towards first-team selection if he impresses in pre-season. Jack Fletcher (midfield) Fletcher was called up by Ruben Amorim in November when Kobbie Mainoo missed the trip to Tottenham through injury, in order to ensure United's remarkable record of having a home-grown player in every first-team squad since October 1937 was not broken. Fletcher made his debut at Aston Villa the following month, one of three matches in a row the midfielder was involved in. After that initial burst, the 19-year-old was only included in four more matchday squads as twin Tyler seemed to edge ahead. But Fletcher can dictate the pace of a game and it will be interesting to see whether he has the confidence to do that against senior teams. Manchester United duo Harry Amass (left) and Jack Fletcher [Getty Images] Harry Amass (left-back) Amass impressed in the build-up to the 2024-25 campaign but Ten Hag felt he was too small. Then, after making his senior debut following the Dutch manager's exit, the 19-year-old was loaned out to Sheffield Wednesday last summer following the arrival of Diego Leon from Paraguay. Amass had an outstanding first half of the campaign at Wednesday. But then, after switching to Norwich in the January window, he almost immediately suffered a serious hamstring injury that ruled him out for the remainder of the season. Whether he can be a first-choice back-up to Luke Shaw is open to question, but with so many games there could be a role for him if he proves he has made a full recovery. Radek Vitek (goalkeeper) Goalkeeper Radek Vitek won Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year during his loan spell at Bristol City last season [Getty Images] It is reasonably certain Vitek will spend next season away from Old Trafford, whether it is another loan or a sale which will contain a buy-back clause and a significant sell-on percentage. The 22-year-old Czech was an unused substitute against Rangers two years ago, having had an excellent half season at Accrington Stanley in League Two. He then played a full campaign in Austria's top flight before signing for Bristol City last season. Vitek was so good he won all the club's player of the year awards. When he spoke to BBC Sport in an interview at the end of March, Vitek said his main desire for the 2026-27 campaign was to play regularly. He will get his wish and good performances for United this month will help that. Tyler Fletcher (midfield) Like Lacey, Fletcher was introduced off the bench into the final game of the campaign at Brighton. It proved to be the start of an astonishing few weeks for the 19-year-old, who made significant strides during the meat of the campaign. At home as a number six or an eight, Fletcher was called up to the Scotland squad ahead of their pre-World Cup friendlies to train. He impressed Steve Clarke so much, he was given his first senior appearance as a second-half substitute in a friendly against Bolivia. Then, after Billy Gilmour had to pull out of the World Cup through injury, he was picked in Clarke's squad as Gilmour's replacement. It remains to be seen how much involvement Fletcher will have in pre-season given he did not play in the World Cup, but he is building from promising foundations. Tyler Fletcher (left) won Manchester United's Under-21 Player of the Year last season and JJ Gabriel won the Under-18 Player of the Year [Getty Images] JJ Gabriel (forward) Gabriel is one of the most talked about players in United's academy, even though he is too young to be a first-year scholar. Gabriel will not be 16 until October but has already caught the attention of every top club in Europe. He was Premier League Under-18 Player of the Year and Manchester United's Under-18 Player of the Year even though he was only 14 when the 2025-26 season began. Gabriel has pace and balance to be devastating from wider positions cutting in, but United's coaching staff felt his smaller frame meant he could have greater effect in the number 10 role last season. His size, for now, might be the only issue in the transition to senior football. He is expected to play some part in pre-season - after that, the sky is the limit. Jacob Devaney (midfield/defender) Midfielder Jacob Devaney made 18 appearances on loan at Scottish Premiership outfit St Mirren in the second half of last season [Getty Images] Captain of United's under-21 side for the first half of last season and the Republic of Ireland's U21s at the end, Barnsley-born Devaney plays with a maturity beyond his 19 years. With Tyler Fletcher and twin brother Jack Fletcher in central midfield, Devaney eased into a centre-back role with United, but then, on loan in the Scottish Premiership with St Mirren, he switched back into his favoured midfield slot and was superb in his first extended experience of senior football. He will go on tour, but there are numerous clubs, both in England and overseas, who want to sign him on loan, so it will be fascinating to see where he spends the 2026-27 season. 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