Shea Lacey showed an unexpected quality as he played a key role in Manchester United's victory over Roma.
The 19-year-old is steadily gaining experience within the first-team squad and taking his chances when they arise.
Having made his first-team debut against Aston Villa last season, Lacey opened his goalscoring account for United against Brighton in September, finding the net on his first senior start.
He has since continued to collect important milestones, including making his Champions League debut at Old Trafford against Sabah and registering his first senior assist in Tuesday night's dramatic victory over Roma.
Read also
Introduced in the 75th minute when United were still losing he went on to play in an unusual makeshift right-back role in the final minutes.
He first produced a superb through ball for Cunha to hit United's winner.
And then later when Cunha was sent off, Lacey showed he has the versatility and composure to drop back into a defensive role.
He looked accomplished as he helped to keep Roma out in the final throes of the game.
It was a new experience for the teenager, who admitted he had not previously been asked to perform that particular role.
But he was happy to do whatever was required to help the team, underlining an increasingly important aspect of his development.
Despite now having 10 senior appearances to his name, Lacey is remaining grounded about his progress and recognises there is still considerable work ahead.
Asked whether he already considered himself a success story of United's academy, he played down the suggestion, insisting there was still a long way to go.
“[I'm] not yet [a success story of our Academy],” he states, modestly, when having that honour put to him. “We’re building towards it, it’s going well. But nights like tonight definitely help. There’s still a long way to go.”
And on playing at right-back he continued: “It was new, I haven’t done it before.
“But just to see games out like that, sometimes you’ve got to do those things and I thought it worked in the end, it worked well.”
On his first assist he said: “It was a special feeling, it’s been a long time coming but it was good.
“It was amazing, the atmosphere in the second half, you could feel the momentum shift as soon as Bruno put the penalty away. You could feel it building and building and it [the winner] finally came and it was a special moment.”
That attitude will please Carrick and his coaching staff, who will be keen to ensure the youngster continues to develop without unnecessary pressure.
Lacey's technical ability, confidence in possession and willingness to take on opponents have already given United supporters plenty of reasons for excitement.
loading
