Maturing Lacey a rising Man Utd star

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Manchester United Under-21s chief Adam Lawrence says Shea Lacey's regular exposure to first-team training is developing his all-round game.

Lacey was excellent in the 3-2 win over Sunderland in the PL2 play-off last-16 tie at Leigh Sports Village.

The 19-year-old showed off his superb close control, balance and excellent passing skills before he cut in off the right wing and drilled a precise low shot into the bottom corner that effectively sealed a last-eight trip to Crystal Palace.

It was a surprise to see Lacey involved given he was on the first-team bench for their most recent games against Leeds and Chelsea, but Lawrence was glad to have him available.

"Shea is playing with a lot of maturity," he said. "You can see training with the first team and being around their programme consistently is definitely helping him in a lot of areas of his game.

"It was a really good performance. He got his goal and he looked like a real threat at the top end of the pitch."

Lacey had a long spell out of the game during the 2023-24 campaign with a thigh complaint, then missed a month more recently after suffering a calf strain.