Jack Fletcher Joins Manchester United Squad Amid Injury Concerns

Jack Fletcher has been called up to the senior Manchester United squad, replacing the injured Kobbie Mainoo for Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Tottenham. This decision ensures that the club’s remarkable 88-year tradition of including an academy product in every matchday squad remains intact.

Mainoo, 20, did not make the trip to London with the squad managed by Ruben Amorim, reportedly due to a minor injury.

Jack Fletcher, an 18-year-old England youth international and son of former United midfielder and current Under-18s coach Darren Fletcher, has been included in the squad. Although he has yet to make his first-team debut for Manchester United, Fletcher was listed on the first-team bench multiple times during the previous season.

Fletcher and his twin brother, Tyler, joined Manchester United from Manchester City’s academy in 2023. Jack has also been selected for England’s Under-19 squad for the upcoming European Championship qualifiers in Lithuania, where he may encounter his brother, who is representing Scotland.

In recent games, Mainoo has been the only academy graduate present in Manchester United’s squad. Goalkeeper Tom Heaton, another academy product, remains a backup option, currently positioned as third choice behind Altay Bayındır and Senne Lammens.

Tyler Fredricson, also a product of the academy and hailing from Stockport, has participated in the squad this season, notably starting in the EFL Cup defeat against Grimsby.

Manchester United takes great pride in its legacy of featuring at least one academy graduate, referred to as a “homegrown player,” in every matchday squad since 1937. This impressive streak has spanned over 4,000 consecutive games, beginning on October 30, 1937, when Tom Manley and Jack Wassall participated in an away match against Fulham.

The club defines a homegrown player as one who signed with them before the age of 21, has not competed in a senior match for another team, and has played for a junior team within the organization.

Amorim has expressed his commitment to preserving this record, despite recent criticisms from minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has suggested that the standards of the academy have “really slipped.”