Ruben Amorim adapts training with Man United academy playing key role

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Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has made a “change” to first-team training which has produced a “real spark” at Carrington according to sources close to the club, an inside report reveals.

Mixing old and young

GIVEMESPORT explains Amorim has started to “include more and more youth players” in senior training with the Portuguese tactician believing the combination “adds hunger and energy to sessions.”

While previously senior players and academy starlets had often trained separately, Amorim has been increasingly “blending” both groups in “tactical and technical drills” which encourages greater “competition and communication”.

One well-placed source contends this has an immediate effect with the first-team squad benefitting from the injection of enthusiasm from their younger counterparts, and vice versa in terms of the sharing of experience at the highest level.

“Training’s got a real spark to it again. The young lads aren’t there just to make up the numbers – Amorim wants them learning the standards and pushing for places,” the source reveals to GIVEMESPORT.

There are downsides, however, with some of the academy graduates “tak[ing] time to fully settle” as they “are still adjusting to the pace and physicality of first-team football”.

But Amorim and his coaching staff have been careful not to “overload” the youngsters – and there is firm belief the “benefits far outweigh the challenges.”

Shea the Standout

GIVEMESPORT states Shea Lacey – the 18-year-old attacking starlet considered one of the premier prospects in United’s academy – has been a “standout” in training who has “impressed staff and senior teammates alike with his directness and flair.”

One source reveals the England U-20 international has been “tearing it up – fearless, creative, and always looking to make something happen. He’s really caught the eye.”

Amorim is said to be “keeping a close watch on his development” with a view towards inclusion in a first-team matchday squad as the season the progresses.

The Peoples Person has relayed reports corroborating Lacey’s meteoric rise with a host of clubs, including Premier League sides, interested in signing the forward on loan.

But this increased role for youth players in the senior team’s training, which has produced much improved results on the pitch in recent weeks, means Lacey, along with his academy compatriots, may be more valuable to United’s fortunes in training at Carrington rather than first-team opportunities elsewhere.

Featured image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images

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