7 Man Utd academy graduates thriving away from Old Trafford in 2024-25
The Manchester United academy have produced plenty of top players over the years, although not all of them have stuck around at Old Trafford.
Indeed, plenty of their former youngsters have forged a career for themselves away from Manchester and are now thriving as a result.
We’ve taken a closer look at some of their former academy players and have found seven of them who are thriving in 2024-25.
Alvaro Carreras
The Spanish full-back spent two years in the United academy before he was promoted to the senior team and sent out on loan.
After impressing during loan spells with Preston North End and Benfica, United fans were eager to see more from the 21-year-old, but he never got his chance under Erik ten Hag.
Instead, the club cashed in on him over the summer as Benfica purchased him on a permanent basis. Since making the switch to Portugal, Carreras has firmly established himself as one of the club’s top-performing players.
The attacking left-back scored in Benfica’s recent 4-1 thumping of Porto and the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid are now said to be sniffing around.
Fortunately for United, they included a buyback clause in his deal.
Scott McTominay
The Scottish international hasn’t looked back since switching Manchester for Naples.
Playing under Antonio Conte, McTominay is playing some of the best football of his career right now as Napoli currently sit top of Serie A.
In his first 10 appearances for the club, he’s chipped in with five goal contributions and seems to be enjoying life in southern Italy.
“Scott is a complete player, versatile, who can be a trequartista behind the striker,” Conte said in a press conference.
“He can be a mezz’ala in a three-man midfield, play in a two-man midfield or even wide in a 5-4-1 with licence to attack.”
Angel Gomes
Having recently become a regular in the England squad under interim boss Lee Carsley, Gomes is starting to earn his flowers after a number of eye-catching years in France.
The 24-year-old continues to be an important cog in Bruno Genesio’s side who currently sit fourth in Ligue 1.
Danny Welbeck
When it comes to players like Welbeck, age is only a number. The 33-year-old has been in prolific form throughout 2024-25 as he still looks as sharp as ever around the box.
He’s already scored six league goals this season which is double the amount that any United player has managed in the Premier League so far.
On the back of his impressive form, a return to Old Trafford has been rumoured, although Welbeck himself has said that it’s just ‘speculation’ at this moment.
“It’s speculation and there’s always that link for me because I’ve been at the club,” Welbeck told The Times when asked about a potential return to United.
“As I said, I’m just focusing on what I can control myself and all the other stuff is pretty irrelevant.”
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Joshua King
The Norwegian forward never quite made the grade at Old Trafford, but he has made a success of his career since venturing out of Manchester.
After spending his peak years with Bournemouth, the 32-year-old has become somewhat of a journeyman in recent years, having had stints in England, Greece and now France.
Currently on the books at Toulouse, King has started the new campaign with a bang with three goals in his last four matches.
In Ligue 1 this season, he’s averaged a goal contribution every 125 minutes which is decent going.
Andreas Pereira
While the Brazilian midfielder has only been involved in one goal for Fulham so far this season, his underlying stats and performance levels have been superb.
Impressively, only six players from Europe’s top five leagues have created more chances for their teammates than Pereira has this season.
READ: The top 10 chance creators in Europe’s five major leagues in 2024-25: Raphinha, Saka, Palmer…
Charlie Savage
After impressing for Reading in League One, Savage earned a place for himself in Craig Bellamy’s latest Wales squad.
The former United academy graduate is developing well under the management of Ruben Selles as he’s already chipped in with seven goal contributions from midfield this season across all competitions.
- https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/7-man-utd-academy-graduates-thriving-away-from-old-trafford-in-2024-25/ar-AA1u0FaM?ocid=00000000
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