Jacob Devaney impressed Carrick despite playing in an unfamiliar role

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The Peoples Person

18 July 2026

Manchester United

may have lost their opening pre-season fixture against Wrexham on Saturday, but head coach Michael Carrick was pleased with some of the things he saw.

The head coach picked two different teams in each half, with the seniors playing the first 45 minutes, a half which saw a couple of interesting

positional tweaks

. The second half XI was comprised entirely of academy wonderkids.

During his post-match interview with

MUTV

, Carrick claimed he felt his team had more control of proceedings in the second half.

“I was really pleased with the second-half team. I thought they controlled the game really well against a team that is not easy to play against.

“They make you work for it. In general, the boys took responsibility and showed their quality. Again, that final bit of trying to break down a lot of bodies in front of the ball, at this stage, it’s not easy to find that sharpness and that extra little bit of creation.

“But that will come. I was really pleased with the young players [in the] second half and they can really be proud of themselves.”

The statement was a 100 per cent true and indicative of the bravery shown by the youngsters against their counterparts from the Championship.

Of all the youngsters in the fray, it was one who spent the second half of last season away from Carrington that most pleased the new boss.

Jacob Devaney stole the show while playing for St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership and seems to have caught Carrick’s eye.

The

19-year-old

is a combative defensive midfielder by trade but can double up as a centre-back when needed. Carrick opted to play the

Republic of Ireland

Under-21 international at the heart of the defence against the Red Dragons’ physical striker, Kieffer Moore.

Safe to say that

Jacob Devaney

emerged with flying colours and he has done his chances of playing against Rosenborg next week no harm. With United needing midfield reinforcements, the Barnsley-born ace

could step up if required

“They can play long into Kieffer Moore and JD [Jacob Devaney] playing centre-half, it’s not natural to him. He’s played a little bit there but not a lot, I thought he did ever so well.

“He had a really successful few months up in Scotland. It was good to see him take that next step. The confidence and assurance in his game, even though he was playing a slightly different position. He was vocal, he was commanding. I liked a lot of what he did today.”

Tyler Fletcher was another who was name-dropped by the United midfield legend. From earning his first United start under Carrick to

making his international debut

and then making

Scotland’s World Cup squad

, it has been a whirlwind last few months for the Scotland international.

He added another feather to his cap in Finland by being named as United’s captain for the second half, and his mature display pleased the boss.

“He’s had an eventful three or four months, Tyler. He didn’t want long off after the World Cup, he wanted to get back into it. He took that responsibility and led the team [in the] second half really well.”

Hopefully, the youngsters will continue to impress and one or two of them can become regular first-team fixtures in the upcoming season.

Feature image Lewis Storey via Getty Images

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