A fortnight ago, Manchester United’s academy director Nick Cox offered a Red Devils supporters a pea behind the curtain at the inner-workings of arguably football’s most fabled youth system.
The youth system who provided the backbone of the famous ‘Fergie Fledglings’; Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Gary Neville and so on.
The youth system which laid the foundations for that ‘glorious’ FA Cup triumph over Man City at Wembley, Carrington graduates Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo maintaining Erik ten Hag’s trophy-a-season record at Manchester United.
And, for those who do not quite make the grade with the Red Devils, United strive to ensure that they can still go on to enjoy a fine career elsewhere.
Take Siem Eyob-Abraha, for instance. The centre-forward who represented Man United’s Under 18 side last term, albeit briefly.
Eyob-Abraha leaves Carrington with his new destination announced on Friday lunchtime.
Youngster joins new club after Manchester United exit
Sheffield United of the Championship confirmed via their official website that the teenager will be part of their Under 18 team next term alongside ex-Man City midfielder Aaron Reid and former Everton goalkeeper Ben Grainger.
Only time will tell whether Eyob-Abraha joins an extensive list of former United kids who ended up making quite the impression in the Premier League or, in the case of Matej Kovar for instance, further afield.
“Our Academy graduates delivered more playing time across the whole of the Premier League than any other Academy,” a proud Cox told the Man United website recently. “Contributing to this statistic were three players who left us last summer.
“Teden Mengi made 30 appearances for Luton Town, Anthony Elanga played 36 times for Nottingham Forest and Dean Henderson had 18 games for Crystal Palace.
“Some of the standout stories are Matej Kovar playing in the Europa League final for Bayer Leverkusen,” Cox adds.
Dishon Bernard having a huge role in saving Sheffield Wednesday from relegation, Charlie Savage making his senior debut for Wales, Noam Emeran being promoted with Groningen and Zidane Iqbal recovering from an injury to play 12 times for Utrecht.
“Incidentally, the Academy generated £38m in revenue from player sales this season.”
United confirm new Ibragimov and Mantato deals
Man United, meanwhile, confirmed earlier in the week that ten youngsters have signed scholarship terms.
Among them are Amir Ibragimov – any United fan with any social media presence will surely have seen the odd clip of him banging in his trademark long rangers – and a teenager so fast, so versatile that comparisons have been drawn with a young Bukayo Saka.
Bendito Mantato signs a new deal despite interest from rival Premier League clubs, per Fabrizio Romano, and after catching the eye with a stunning four-goal haul against Blackburn Rovers in the spring.
The future looks bright, meanwhile, for the next generation of Carrington ‘fledglings’.
Man United’s sparkling Under 18 side won a domestic treble in 2023/24. And if Mainoo and Garnacho were the stand-out talents in their class, then prolific centre-forward Ethan Wheatley may be the next to graduate the esteemed finishing school with first-class honours.
“The 250th graduate from our youth programme to represent our first team,” Cox says of Wheatley, who made United history when coming off the bench for his senior debut against the aforementioned Sheffield United.
“A reminder of the club’s 92-year commitment to youth development, the great players and developers whose footsteps we follow in and the privilege we have to uphold their legacy.
At a recent event, Ethan articulated his journey from the Under-9s. This was brilliant for the parents and guardians who attended, because the journey he experienced, which is quite typical, didn’t look as they might have expected it to.”
