The making of Shea Lacey: How a Scouse boxing fanatic became the jewel of the Man United academy, training with England at 18 and why Ruben Amorim is so enamoured with dribbling king compared to Phil Foden

If ever there was someone who could relate to being a Scouser and still carving out a (positive) name for yourself at Manchester United, it’s Wayne Rooney.

Eighteen months back, relaxing on the sofa one night as he dealt with the stresses of an injury setback, Shea Lacey was on a FaceTime call and on the other end was Rooney giving him a pep talk.

‘Keep doing what you’re doing mate,’ said Rooney, who is represented by the same agency as the 18-year-old rising star of the United academy. ‘You’re doing brilliant!’

The talent of Lacey, who is the same age now as Rooney was when he joined United, has never been in question. Erik ten Hag picked him out among a small group of academy players for one-to-one meetings during his time in charge.

And in this international break he got an even bigger vote of confidence, when asked to train with Thomas Tuchel's England senior squad.

‘He’s a super humble kid,’ said one United academy figure. He has been in their setup since he was four years old, and the club have known for a while that they had struck gold on Merseyside again.

‘Everyone knows Shea Lacey,’ United Under 21s boss Travis Binnion told Daily Mail Sport earlier this season.

‘He needs to be patient with himself, and everyone needs to be patient with him, because he still has a lot to learn tactically, physically, and mentally.

‘Everyone can see, you’d have to be blind not to see, the talent he possesses. He still has a lot to do, and he knows it. We continue to manage him physically. If he manages to stay fit, everyone thinks he could become a top-level player.’

Go right back to Lacey kicking a ball around the family garden and he was doing tricks at the age of three that his brothers couldn’t come close to matching even years on.

Player of the tournament trophies seemed to arrive on a weekly basis for Lacey, more often than not playing up multiple age groups, and expectations in academy football circles soared.

And while United's first team head to Liverpool this Sunday, Lacey could quite easily have ended up in their biggest rival’s academy.

Lacey’s dad came through the Reds youth setup during the days of Ian Rush and Shea's eldest brother Paddy, a former lower-league midfielder who is now a pro boxer, followed in his dad’s footsteps before turning professional.

When it came to Shea and middle brother Luis, the prospect of putting them into the Liverpool system did not appeal to the family.

Dribbling was and is one of Shea’s biggest attributes and it was decided, after spells training with Blackburn, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester City, that the best place for him to maximise his potential was at United.

He spent countless hours watching clips of Eden Hazard and Lionel Messi in full flight, though nowadays it is Phil Foden he draws the most comparisons to.

Lacey was a shy kid when he first pitched up at United, one who was ‘obsessed’ with boxing and once made it to an age group national final before focusing fully on football.

A boyhood United fan who had begrudgingly been bought a season ticket at Anfield by his eldest brother before losing all interest, bit by bit he has come out of his shell to establish himself as one of this country’s most technically gifted youngsters. And yet Lacey is still not satisfied.

‘He approaches each session with genuine curiosity about how to get better, which is often the difference between good players and elite players,’ Phil Jevons, the former Everton academy graduate and EFL veteran who has worked closely with Lacey since becoming a coach, told Daily Mail Sport.

‘In every session Shea demonstrated that hunger to improve. He wasn’t satisfied with just executing drills - he wanted to understand the "why" behind the work and how it transfers to match situations. That mentality, combined with the coaching he’s getting at United, is exactly what creates top players.’

Figures around the United academy talk up his debut goal for the Under 18s in 2022 when he was only 15, a top-corner rocket from distance against Wolves, or his ‘twinkle-toed’ performance in that year's Super Cup NI final at Ballymena Showgrounds when he danced through five players to win a penalty, scored it, and then took the corner to tee up the second goal in a 2-0 win.

Earlier this season, playing away at Liverpool’s academy for the Under 21s, it was noticeable that a mass exodus of scouts coincided with Lacey being substituted. The show was over.

United sources also speak of the frustration at injuries putting pause to his now imminent first team breakout. It is why there has been immense amounts of caution and patience in building him back up.

In 2023, a severe thigh tear cost Lacey his place at the Under-17 World Cup and little injuries, some brought on as a result of growing pains, have flared up since.

It has been a test of Lacey’s mental fortitude to get to the point where he played his first full 90 minutes in two years only recently, away to Lincoln City in the EFL Trophy. Now it’s hoped Lacey is ready to make up for lost time and launch into a first-team setup crying out for academy players to rally behind.

His best position for the first team would be as one of the two No 10s in Ruben Amorim's beloved 3-4-2-1 system. Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo, his two main competitors for the left-footed version of that role, are off to the Africa Cup of Nations in December, and if they are away for a prolonged period it could be Lacey's route to minutes.

Daily Mail Sport revealed that Lacey has left a lasting impression on Amorim and his coaches this season when drafted into training sessions. The first-team boss is said to be very enthused by this version of Lacey, one that Amorim's staff see as playing with a freedom that previous injuries robbed him of.

Amorim treats him like any other first-team player, no kid gloves or special treatment for being an academy player. As other youngsters who broke through such as Harry Amass can attest, this is a clear sign of just how highly Amorim rates you.

Lacey and Amorim speak with increasing regularity these days, plenty of one-to-one conversations around the training ground and there is said to be an eagerness to put Lacey in a position to succeed in the very near future. 

Harry Maguire, who is also part of the same agency as Rooney and Lacey, has looked out for the 18-year-old, too. It was Maguire who noted privately how first-team stars have been so impressed by Lacey’s technical level. 

‘I'm sure Manchester United have big plans for him,’ said England Under 20s boss Ben Futcher, who last week gave Lacey his international debut at that level. ‘I hope he avoids injuries and can realise his potential.’

Having at one stage lived in digs with James Garner, a Manchester United academy graduate now thriving in Everton’s first team, and with the likes of Maguire in his corner, Lacey is not short of mentors to lean on when the big break does arrive.

He’s right there, finally - on the brink of cracking the United first team and fulfilling a dream he has had for 14 years.

Now it’s up to Amorim to take a leap of faith and let Lacey show what he’s all about, just as Rooney did all those years ago.