Academy Briefing: Reds travel to Europe

UNDER-18s PROGRESS IN CUP

Adam Lawrence’s group prepared well for the upcoming European challenge by progressing in another cup competition.

The U18 Premier League Cup was one of three trophies lifted by the young Reds last season — alongside the northern and national league titles — and United put in a professional performance in our final group stage game to continue our defence.

Requiring a victory by three goals or more at home to rivals Leeds United, Jaydan Kamason, James Scanlon and Chido Obi-Martin netted before half-time — all assisted by Amir Ibragimov. A hard-fought shut-out after the break ensured the three points and a goal difference boost which allowed United to leapfrog Leeds into Group B’s top spot.

The seven group winners and best runner-up progress into the U18 Premier League quarter-finals. United’s next fixture in the competition will be confirmed as soon as possible.

UNDER-19s TO FACE AZ ALKMAAR

After a convincing 11-2 aggregate victory over Lithuanian youth champions in the UEFA Youth League second round (domestic champions path), United travelled to the Netherlands on Monday, ahead of facing AZ Alkmaar.

Winners of the competition in 2022/23, AZ have a strong record at Academy level and will prove testing opposition for Lawrence’s charges.

The Dutch outfit triumphed over Norwegian side Stromsgodset in the second round.

The winners of this two-leg tie between United and AZ will progress into the UEFA Youth League’s full knockout stages, where the teams meet from the ‘domestic champions path’ — in which United compete — and the ‘UEFA Champions League path’, which mirrors the senior competition.

United's travelling squad for AZ Alkmaar U19s:

Goalkeepers: Cameron Byrne-Hughes, Fred Heath, Will Murdock.
Defenders: Harry Amass, Daniel Armer, Jaydan Kamason, Louis Jackson, Reece Munro, Habeeb Ogunneye.
Midfielders: Zach Baumann, Jacob Devaney, Jayce Fitzgerald, Jack Fletcher, Amir Ibragimov.
Forwards: Gabriele Biancheri, Bendito Mantato, Ashton Missin, Chido Obi-Martin, James Scanlon, Ethan Wheatley, Ethan Williams.

United welcome AZ to Old Trafford for an exciting midweek fixture in a fortnight’s time, on Tuesday 10 December. Tickets are available, costing £3 for adults and £1.50 for children. Fans are encouraged to show their support for the next generation of Reds, and all those who attend will be greatly appreciated by players and staff. Order your tickets here.

UNITED HOST SUCCESSFUL BIOBANDING WEEK

United joined forces with Wolverhampton Wanderers recently to host another successful week of 'biobanding'.

"Biobanding is essentially just grouping players based on their physical maturation," explains Alex Ouzounoglou, YDP Athletic Development Lead.

"We remove age groups for a week. Instead, we look at players based on the percentage of their predicted adult height. Within that, we place players in specific bands. So, we have bands from 80-85% of predicted adult height, 85-90%, 90-95% and 95-100%."

The subject of biobanding and its benefits on young players at United's Academy was discussed in detail in Lifeblood: Innovation. The club helped spearhead the use of the practice across English football and has regularly led the way in this area. It was fantastic to collaborate with Wolves this season, with both clubs' U12-U16 age groups training in bio-banded groups during the week before coming up against each other in fixtures across the weekend.

UNDER-21s HOST WEST HAM

Supporters keen to see youth football are also invited to attend this Friday’s Under-21s fixture against West Ham in Premier League 2.

Tickets for the game at Leigh Sports Village, which kicks off at 19:00 GMT, are available here.

This match can’t be shown live on MUTV due to Premier League broadcasting restrictions, but updates will be provided on ManUtd.com and the United App.

MUTV INFO AT A GLANCE

Tuesday 27 November | AZ Alkmaar v UNITED U19s | 16:00 | Not live on MUTV (Clash with Champions League fixture)

Friday 29 November | UNITED U21s v West Ham United | 19:00 | Not live on MUTV (Clash with Premier League fixture)

Saturday 30 November | Stoke City v United U18s | 11:00 | Live on MUTV

Tuesday 3 December | Rochdale v UNITED U21s | 19:00 | Live on MUTV

Saturday 7 December | UNITED U18s v Wolves | 11:30 | Live on MUTV

All times listed in GMT.