The summer period also saw age groups travel far and wide to further their development. Most notably many of our U21 players supported the first team group on the pre-season tour of the USA. We sent groups to Ireland, Northern Ireland, Croatia, Netherlands, Germany, and Hong Kong. Of course we also hosted residential training camps in this country including our long standing training camp at Shrewsbury School which provides our very youngest players with their first experiences of a residential trip.
For our players these residential training camps and tournaments represent an opportunity to develop new skills as they face unfamiliar opposition, compete against the very best players, deal with different competition formats and attempt to compete in front of crowds in games where the levels of jeopardy are different from the regular academy games programme.
Off the pitch these trips are an opportunity for personal growth as players explore new countries and cultures, meet new people, demonstrate independence, and start to experience what it is like to represent United in the public eye.
Of course, these trips also create some memorable and life changing experiences that many of our players would otherwise not have the opportunity to experience were it not for their association with us.
These trips take months of planning. And while it is a great privilege to represent Manchester United across the world, I am also aware that they require our staff to spend long periods of time away from home and their families. Whilst on tour the days are long and demanding in order to that we ensure we provide the appropriate support and care for the players. Thank you to everyone that worked tirelessly to ensure these events were delivered safely and to the highest standard.
The season isn’t even two months old, and we have already seen a debut from an Academy graduate. Toby Collyer made an appearance as a substitute in the Community Shield at Wembley and made his Premier League debut at Old Trafford against Liverpool. Congratulations to Toby. Well done, also, to the extensive group of staff that have supported Toby on his journey so far. Recruited from Brighton as an U18, Toby has represented our U18s, U21s and EFL Trophy teams. He has required support off the pitch; moving from Brighton on his own he has needed the support to settle at the club and in a new city. Toby’s host family have played an important role in his development.
The summer transfer window has enabled us to place eight young Academy players at loan clubs where they will experience senior football as the important next step in their development.
Joe Hugill, Wigan; Radek Vitek, Linz; Rhys Bennett, Fleetwood; Elyh Harrison, Chester; Sonny Aljofree, Accrington; James Nolan, Inverness Caledonian Thistle; Tom Myles, Runcorn Linnets; Tom Wooster, Farsley Celtic.
