Meet Shea Lacey, the budding boxer who became one of Man Utd’s great academy hopes

When Shea Lacey first started training with Manchester United as a very young child, his father was concerned he wasn’t passing the ball enough.

There was a worry that coaches would perceive it as being greedy. Yet staff at Carrington quickly assuaged those fears. The message was “he will learn when is the right time to pass”. They wanted him to master getting out of tricky situations. They would work on the rest of his game when he turned 10.

Few United fans will be complaining at the prospect of seeing Lacey with the ball at his feet now. The 18-year-old may have been born in Liverpool, but he is one of United’s great young hopes, having become the 256th academy player to graduate to the first team when he came off the bench to make his senior debut against Aston Villa at the weekend.

In that match, he forced a late save from Emiliano Martinez, and with United suffering injuries in forward areas and Bryan Mbeumo and Amad on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, there could be more opportunities to impress in the weeks ahead.

Lacey was born into a footballing and fighting family. His father, Paddy Snr, who fitted carpets and laid floors as a day job, and brother, Paddy Jnr, both played at Liverpool’s academy. The latter went on to be a professional footballer in the EFL before also turning his hand to professional boxing. Another sibling, Luis, 20, is now plying his trade at National League side Macclesfield FC.

Despite the family allegiance to Merseyside, Shea and Luis were sent to United. Shea had his first training session at Carrington just before his fifth birthday. He also trained with Liverpool, Everton and Manchester City but signed forms at United at the age of seven because his dad felt the club was best suited to his style of play and desire to dribble.

“I trained at United for a while with the likes of Ravel Morrison before deciding to go with Liverpool,” says Paddy Jnr, 32. “I think my dad regretted it, to be honest, and it never worked out at Liverpool, so he just said if Luis and Shea are good enough, they will go on the books at Man United.”

Shea, the youngest of the family, started his football at Netherton Juniors FC in Liverpool under coach Ray Woodhouse. He went to primary school in his home city and started secondary school there. United wanted to move his education to Manchester, but his mother, Tracey, was initially reluctant until he fell behind in his school work. Then, the family moved closer to the club.

But football wasn’t Shea’s only love. Shooting drills in the garden would often lead to scraps with Luis, so he followed his brothers to Salisbury boxing club — well-known as ‘The Solly’ — and proved a talented fighter. “He was the best at everything,” says Paddy.

Lacey during his time boxing (Paddy Lacey Jnr)

In 2019, he reached the national semi-finals of the 36kg weight class for his age group but came up short against Jonas Railton from Bishop Auckland in the north east of England, who went on to win the title.

“The day before the bout, he had a dentist appointment, and they wanted to take out a tooth, but Shea didn’t want them to do it,” explains his brother.

“But our mum was having none of it. So he had to have it out. It was rotten because of too many sweets, and it broke when they were taking it out. He could barely talk, but he said he was still fighting. The next day, he had to hide it from the doctor, and in the fight, he was a bit tentative, which is unlike him.”

A skilful and determined footballer, he was the same in the ring.

“Shea was feisty when he needed to be,” says Paul Edwards, the boxing coach and former fighter who trained him at The Solly. “He would always train hard, prepare well for fights. He had a load of flair, but he had that feistiness to fight. He was a class act.”

There would be some banter in the gym for being at United from the Liverpool fans.

“He would laugh off the stick and then batter them in sparring,” jokes Edwards. “If he weren’t so good at football, he could have made it as a boxer.”

Lacey would often attend Liverpool games at Anfield with his brothers and had a season ticket, but lost interest. He struggled with the idea of supporting Liverpool but wanting to beat them when he was on the pitch. Now he’s a loyal United fan.

Bruno Fernandes takes Lacey under his wing (James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)

As Lacey went into his teens, the dribbling from those early years carried on, but he developed his team play. Still, his trickery on the ball was eye-catching, and as he got older, the clips would be shared on social media to much acclaim.

He studied videos of Lionel Messi and Eden Hazard, two of his favourite players, and Isco during his Real Madrid days.

Lacey’s dedication and attitude have always impressed academy coaches at United. They noticed a willingness to develop and learn at all times, an attitude that was underpinned by a quiet confidence.

“His technical ability is very clean: his first touch, ball control, dribbling skills and decision-making stand out,” says Phil Jevons, the former Everton striker who now runs his own business as a UEFA A licence coach and has worked with Lacey. “But what impresses me equally is his mentality. He approaches each session with genuine curiosity about how to get better, which is often the difference between good players and elite players.

“He wasn’t satisfied with just executing drills; he wanted to understand the ‘why’ behind the work and how it transfers to match situations. That mentality, combined with the coaching he’s getting at United, is exactly what creates top players.”

Lacey has been training with United’s first team all season (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)

Lacey’s performances for United’s underage teams brought plenty of excitement within the club. He made his debut for the under-18s aged just 15, but progress has not always been smooth.

A torn thigh muscle kept him out of action from October 2023 until April the following year. There have been niggling issues from growing pains.

Paddy Jnr’s career has also had significant challenges. He was banned from football in 2017 after failing a drug test for cocaine while at Accrington Stanley, as reported by the BBC, and served five months of a 16-month prison sentence after being found in possession of class A drugs and counterfeit banknotes at Glastonbury music festival the same year.

Shea confided in Paddy Jnr, who has now rebuilt his life with his own carpet fitting business and boxing career, during his low moments and found a willing listener.

“It was character-building,” Paddy Jnr says. “He realised you’ve just got to knuckle down and go through it. And it’ll sort itself out, which it has.”

Shea is with the Triple S Sports agency, which counts Wayne Rooney — the last Liverpool-born player to become a United hero — and Harry Maguire as clients. Both have spoken to Lacey to help his progression.

Lacey still loves the fight game. Occasionally, he will attend club shows at The Solly, while he also likes MMA. He has struck up a friendship with Amir Ibragimov, another teenager on United’s books from the Dagestan region of Russia. Ibragimov’s older brother, Ibragim, is a professional MMA fighter.

“He’s learned some of the wrestling moves off Amir and these mad twists,” said Paddy Jnr. “He comes home sometimes and puts me in holds I can’t get out of — and I’m a grown man!”

Lacey is 5ft 6in but his technical level has helped him deal with being on the short side. Strength has also never been a problem: Paddy Jnr notes his baby brother’s ability to better him for wide-arm pull-ups when he was only six and he was nearly 20. “He had man strength from being a baby,” he adds.

Those who watched him regularly for United’s academy sides would note he is a player who loves to be on the ball in a team which dominates possession.

There was still caution this season on his game time for the Under-21s, given his injury history. His 90 minutes against Lincoln City in the Vertu Trophy in September were his first full game in two years. That was a significant milestone.

Lacey in action for United’s Under-18s in 2022 (Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images)

He has three goals and two assists in nine appearances for the Under-21s this season. The club have carefully built him back up to full fitness while allowing his body to develop, but their faith in him was shown with a five-year contract last year when he turned 17.

United head coach Ruben Amorim was made aware of Lacey as soon as he arrived at United last November. The teenager travelled to United’s post-season tour in May and came off the bench in both friendlies.

His promotion to first-team training has led to numerous chats with the Portuguese about his progression and how he sees him fitting into his 3-4-2-1 system, most likely in the No 10 slots.

“The development of training with the first team is massive and being around Ruben and his staff and to be ready when the opportunity comes,” Under-21s manager Travis Binnion told ManUtd.com earlier this month.

“I would say Shea is going through that now, where that period of training is far more important than the games. The previous month’s games were really important for Shea to get that body of games and confidence.”

His family were at Old Trafford for last month’s 1-0 defeat by Everton when Lacey was first named in the senior squad, but there was no debut. They watched the Crystal Palace and Wolves games on TV, but again didn’t get a glimpse of their boy in action.

But they did get to see him finally arrive in the Premier League at Villa Park. It will not be his last moment in the spotlight.