Manchester United have completed the signing of Shea Lacey, a player dubbed "the Scouse Lionel Messi".
Merseyside-born Lacey comes from a family of Liverpool fans, but joined the Manchester United academy as a youngster due to his love of the Red Devils. With FA rules stating that players under the age of 17 aren't allowed to sign professional contracts, Manchester United had to wait to tie down the talent to a deal.
But, having celebrated his 17th birthday on Sunday, Lacey has now officially signed a professional contract with the club he grew up supporting and playing for. Adept at playing on either wing as well as in attacking midfield, Lacey has reportedly been a "leading light" in his age group.
Having recently trained with the Manchester United first team, Lacey reportedly impressed coaches with his silky dribbling and ability on the ball. A left-footed player, his style of play has earned him comparisons with Lionel Messi, and plenty of is expected from him at the club.
Injury has kept Lacey out for a large part of the season, however, meaning he has managed just six appearances in the Manchester United U18 team. During those games, however, he has still scored two and assisted three.
Lacey has also been a member of the England youth setup since U15 level, with the youngster making his debut for the U17 side in September 2023 against Portugal. So far, he has made five appearances in the U17 England team scoring twice.
There will be still be plenty for Lacey to do to properly reach the Manchester United first team, however, with fellow youth product Alejandro Garnacho having to wait until he was 18 and a few months old until he made his debut against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League in October 2022.
Regardless, Lacey certainly has a pathway to at least make the Manchester United bench in his future, with the club having had at least one youth team player included in a matchday squad for over 4000 consecutive games now.
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