Manchester United's academy teams have resumed full activity after the international break earlier this month. The Under-21s face Monaco in the Premier League International Cup on Friday night, while the Under-18s take on Blackburn in the league on Saturday, aiming to extend their unbeaten run to eight games.
This week's Academy Notebook includes an update on Kai Rooney's progress, Darren Fletcher's comments after a dominant win, and a youngster's involvement in first-team training.
Rooney's four-goal display
Kai Rooney scored four goals in a 6-0 victory for United's U18s against Burnley this week. The youngster, who plays on the right wing and cuts inside with his left foot, demonstrated the same finishing instincts as his father. He made his first appearance at Old Trafford in the FA Youth Cup last season.
Rooney's celebration of his second goal against Burnley drew attention. He used the 'arm across the face and gun finger celebration', which was also used by JJ Gabriel on his last appearance for the club in September. Gabriel's camp has pushed for an exit over alleged broken promises.
Fletcher praises attacking quality
Darren Fletcher was pleased with his team's performance against Burnley, praising their attacking quality during an interview with MUTV.
"We play attacking football, I know it is in the club’s identity and the DNA," he said. "We want to play fast, direct, attacking football but there is a lot more controlled possession element, that is just the way football is going these days."
"When you attack quickly, fluidly, get people into the box who make really good decisions. The key to football is decision-making, so when we got into the final third, the decision-making was brilliant today."
"A really good performance from everyone, but obviously Kai getting four goals, he deserves it, he has obviously had a lot of injury problems, so to come back and do that was good."
Shah trains with first team
Jariyah Shah took part in first-team training at Carrington on Wednesday afternoon. The 17-year-old midfielder, born in Australia and a representative of their youth teams, joined Doncaster's academy when he moved to England and transferred to United in the summer of 2022 for a sizeable fee for a player of his age.
Shah has been a consistent starter for the U18s this season and was named on the bench for both UEFA Youth League games.
New academy appointment
United are hiring Gareth Morgan for a new role as assistant head of academy football development and methodology. Morgan is leaving the Football Association after 12 years, where he worked as a youth coach developer. He previously worked as an academy coach at Huddersfield and Leeds.
He will work under Darren Hughes, who was appointed by United from Manchester City earlier this year as the head of academy football development and methodology. Hughes' role was described as "fundamental to the long-term vision of United in identifying and developing the best coaches and the best young players." Morgan will focus on player and coaching development in the academy.
