Man United make important announcement involving youth side | OneFootball

Manchester United have made an announcement involving the Under-21s as plans for next season start to take shape.

United announcement

Earlier on Thursday, United confirmed that the Under-21s will face Altrincham in a pre-season friendly.

The match is set to take place at Moss Lane on Friday 31 July, with ticket details for the 19:00 BST kick-off set to come in due time.

United have encountered Altrincham on multiple occasions in recent years. The two sides faced off in pre-season friendlies across consecutive summers in 2022 and 2023, as well as during the group stage of the 2024/25 National League Cup.

The Red Devils won the National League Cup contest 4-0. Ethan Ennis bagged a sensational hat-trick while Amir Ibragimov also got on the scoresheet.

Altrincham ended their 2025/26 National League campaign in 13th place.

United’s Under-21s and coaching staff, led by Adam Lawrence, are currently enjoying a break and recharging their batteries after an action-filled season.

First-team ambitions

Most youngsters in the Under-21 ranks will undoubtedly be working hard to keep in shape as they eye being included in Michael Carrick’s pre-season squad.

With the World Cup taking place this summer, United’s pre-season squad is likely to feature a larger-than-usual number of talents.

Whoever impresses in training and in the pre-season friendlies will put themselves firmly in contention to be in Carrick’s first-team plans for 2026/27.

Carrick has repeatedly made it clear that he will not hesitate to give opportunities to starlets he feels are ready and deserving of such chances.

The likes of Shea Lacey, Victor Musa, Ethan Ennis, Jayce Fitzgerald, Jack Moorhouse, Jacob Devaney, Sekou Kone, Jaydan Kamason and Reece Munro are just a handful who will be keen to make the step up to the big time.

Feature image Matt McNulty via Getty Images

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