Promising Start to the Season for the U18s

The Manchester United Academy has long been heralded as one of the best in the country, and this year's crop is continuing to spread that message. Only Derby have bested them on points this season, and that is only due to them playing an extra game. Adam Lawrence's boys have indeed been on fire.

Lawrence is a truly great coach. He is the primary reason for the sustained success despite all the changes to the U18s. United fans are already familiar with Harry Amass and Ethan Wheatley, but other key players such as Finley McAllister and Louis Jackson also have graduated into the U21s, leaving big holes. Through Lawrence's brilliance and vision, players such as Amir Ibragimov, Bendito Mantato, Jayce Fitzgerald, and D.J Armer have seemless fit into the side.

It is specifically a few players who have truly made a difference in this young season, foremost the young Welsh striker Gabriele Biancheri. Biancheri made his debut in the u18s in the 2023/24 season, but has since exploded onto the season. He has scored six goals in the first four games and has seemed to develop his game around being an incredible box threat, scoring various types of goals with precise and calculated finishes.

Jayce Fitzgerald is another player who has solidifed the transtion. A midfielder by trade, Fitzgerald has filled in at center-half at times to ease the young center-half pairing of D.J Armer and Godwill Kukonki. He currently has shifted back into the midfield and looks to be an incredibly promising partner to Kobbie Mainoo in the future.

This U18s team is special, and it will be intriguing to see how both they will evolve and develop as the year goes by.

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