"He's not afraid to throw the youth in" — Jacob Devaney said it, but the evidence was already on the pitch. In Manchester United's pre-season friendly against Wrexham in Helsinki, Michael Carrick sent out an entirely academy-produced XI for the second half. Eleven players. No half-measures.
For a club whose previous manager Ruben Amorim took consistent flak for his distance from the youth setup, that's a meaningful shift in culture. Carrick has been pitchside at academy fixtures, present at training sessions before the first team were even back in, and he's converting that visibility into actual minutes for young players. Devaney noticed.
More than just a cameo
The 19-year-old Republic of Ireland Under-21 midfielder was deployed in an unfamiliar position — centre-back — alongside Dan Armer, tasked with keeping Kieffer Moore quiet. Moore is a Championship-level physical presence with a career's worth of aerial duels behind him. Devaney wasn't intimidated.
"No matter who I'm up against, whether it's the lads in training or lads like Kieffer Moore, I'll apply myself and I'll give 100 per cent, and I'll always back myself to come out on top." That's not bravado for the cameras. A player who spent last season on loan at St Mirren — helping them survive relegation through a play-off win over Partick Thistle across 18 appearances — has already done it the hard way.
He's played multiple positions over the last two years. He's earned minutes in a relegation battle. When a teenager talks about backing himself against experienced professionals, it carries more weight when he's already been tested at that level.
What comes next
Devaney is realistic about his path. He wants to be a Manchester United regular — week in, week out — but he knows another loan spell is possible if the right opportunity comes up. Given the competition for midfield places at Old Trafford, a second loan is probably the likelier route to consistent game time.
The bigger picture here is what Carrick is building. A manager who watches the under-18s, who turns up at every training session during pre-season, who fields an all-academy second half in a friendly — that changes the internal calculus for every young player at Carrington. Whether United's results justify that investment come spring is another question. But the foundation looks different to what came before.
"It's positive to have someone like him in the building," Devaney said. At this stage of the rebuild, that might be the most honest assessment available.
