Manchester United have confirmed that 15 academy players have signed first-year scholarship contracts with the club.
The club’s official academy intake announcement confirmed the 2026 group, with Kai Rooney and Jacey Carrick among the names.
Rooney is the son of United’s all-time record goalscorer Wayne Rooney. Carrick is the son of former United midfielder and current head coach Michael Carrick.
The full intake is: Jake Ford, Harley Emsden-James, Idris Fabiyi, Gazimagamed Ibragimov, Connor Laurie, Samuel O’Brien, Jaume Camacho Sidos, Jacey Carrick, Harlem McLaughlin, Jodie Nganga, Pharell Silvester, Emmanuel Ziro, Edson De Jonge-Seiros, Camron Mpofu and Kai Rooney.
United said the players have signed their first-year scholarship contracts as they move into the next stage of academy development.
United Keep Academy Pathway In Focus
The announcement gives United another youth-development marker at a busy point in the summer.
The first-team rebuild under Carrick will draw most attention, but academy progression remains central to the club’s identity. United’s pathway has already produced recent first-team players, and each new intake brings another group into the professional development phase.
Rooney and Carrick will naturally attract attention because of their family names. Both will still need to be judged on their own progress.
That is the important part for United. The scholarship step is not a senior breakthrough, but it is a meaningful stage in the club’s academy structure.
The next challenge is consistent development across Under-18 football, training standards and cup competition minutes.
For United, the headline is simple. Another academy group has been formally moved forward, and the club will hope several of them can turn scholarship contracts into professional deals over the next stage of their development.
