James Nolan played both with and against some top talents during his time in Manchester United’s academy and has pointed to the youngster to watch at Old Trafford
While rivals Arsenal and Liverpool have seen teenage prodigies hit the headlines this season, Manchester United have reason to be excited themselves. Plenty of attention has been paid to JJ Gabriel, who cannot make his Premier League debut until next season due to competition rules, though he isn’t the only starlet making waves.
Shea Lacey, who turns 19 this month, is a little older than Arsenal’s Max Dowman and Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha. However, former United team-mate James Nolan believes the winger – who made his Premier League debut in December – is the real deal.
“Shea is that guy,” said Baller League star Nolan, who shared digs with the England youth international during his own time at Old Trafford. He saw Lacey get sent off on his FA Cup bow against Brighton in January but believes even that doesn’t detract from the quality he has shown.
“He’s just got it,” he added. “He’s playing 10, 15 minutes, but you can see the level he’s at.” Nolan, who captained United’s Under-18 side and played at right-back and left-back during his time in the academy, knows all about what makes a great winger.
When asked by Mirror Football about his toughest opponent, he probably has a better answer than most. “When the first team played Barcelona in the Europa League at the Nou Camp, United and Barca spoke and we played [against their academy team] in the morning and then watched the first team at night,” he said.
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READ MORE: JJ Gabriel forced to wait after Man Utd failure as wonderkid’s ban scuppers Michael CarrickREAD MORE: How Man Utd’s team could look in 5 years as Kai Rooney and JJ Gabriel shine with £65m man“I came on in the second half and there’s a little 13-year-old kid stood on the side. He comes on and I’m thinking, ‘Oh, nice and easy, this.’ It ended up being Lamine Yamal.
“So he comes on and gets the ball passed to him. I’m tight to him and then takes a touch inside, probably 25 yards out and just whips it top corner. Yeah. I’m thinking, ‘Alright.’ Then two minutes later, I try to nail him and he skips past me and does exactly the same.”
He added: “I’ve played [against] Ethan Nwaneri at Arsenal. You’ve got Myles Lewis-Skelly. Nico O’Reilly, Rico Lewis. And obviously played with Kobbie [Mainoo], played with [Alejandro] Garnacho, played with Shea Lacey.
“There’s been that many where I’ve stepped off the football pitch and thought, ‘You know what? Fair play.’ You know when you’re coming up against someone when with the first touch they just go and do that like with Yamal.”
Speaking about those talented wide players – be that opponents like Yamal or team-mates like Lacey, he added: “It’s just special. I’ve been lucky to play against these players and it’s one of those things where I’ll always remember it and it’s been a brilliant time doing it.”
Gabriel, who only turned 15 in October, could well be the next in line. Nolan remembers encountering the youngster during his own time in United’s academy and says it’s “scary” to see how quickly he has risen through the ranks. “When we used to be in college doing our Btecs, he used to come into the school and then he used to train with us in the afternoon and even at 12, 13, it was mental [how good he was],” Nolan continued.
“I think with certain players, when you get to the 14, 15 age, you just know straight away. For me, I think once Shea gets his chance, he’ll do very well for himself.”
Nolan isn’t the only one to have been seriously impressed by Lacey’s ability. Former United title-winner Clayton Blackmore emphasised the “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough” argument, while the club’s own managers have backed the teenager in the clearest way possible by handing him senior minutes.
Under-21s coach Adam Lawrence has spoken of the winger’s “elite technical level” as Lacey continues to train with the first team alongside minutes on the pitch for the younger group. He has eight goals in nine Premier League 2 outings this term and was named on the bench by Carrick for a win over Fulham in February.
We’ll leave the last word to Nolan, though. The defender trained with United’s senior side himself and knows what it means for his fellow academy talents to be able to do the same.
Baller League Season Three is available to watch live on www.youtube.com/@BallerLeagueUK
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