Manchester United's pre-season friendly against Atletico Madrid in Stockholm on Saturday is expected to be the final opportunity for several academy players to impress before the first-team squad returns to full strength.
Senior stars Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot and Matheus Cunha are set to resume pre-season training next week, while Belgium internationals Senne Lammens and Youri Tielemans continue to build their fitness at Carrington. As a result, next weekend's clash with Paris Saint-Germain is expected to feature a much stronger senior squad.
Although United's transfer business remains ongoing, making it too early to determine which youngsters have done enough to earn permanent first-team opportunities, several academy prospects have caught the eye during pre-season.
Harry Amass, Jaydan Kamason, Dan Armer, Jack Fletcher, Jim Thwaites, Ethan Williams and JJ Gabriel all retained their places for the trip to Stockholm, while other academy players featured for the Under-21s against Altrincham.
However, after an impressive pre-season campaign, Shea Lacey and Tyler Fletcher have emerged as the leading academy prospects, placing themselves at the front of the queue for future first-team opportunities under Michael Carrick.
