Jack Fletcher Joins Manchester United Squad Following Injury to Kobbie Mainoo

Jack Fletcher has been called up to the Manchester United squad for the upcoming Premier League match against Tottenham, filling the vacancy left by the injured Kobbie Mainoo. This move upholds the club’s impressive 88-year record of including an academy graduate in every matchday squad.

Kobbie Mainoo, aged 20, did not travel with the team to London due to a minor injury.

Jack Fletcher, an 18-year-old midfielder and son of former United player and current Under-18s coach Darren Fletcher, has now joined the squad under coach Ruben Amorim. Although he has yet to make his senior debut for the team, Fletcher has been named on the first team bench several times throughout the previous season.

Fletcher, along with his twin brother Tyler, transferred to Manchester United from Manchester City’s academy in 2023. Recently, Jack was selected for England’s Under-19 team for the upcoming European Championship qualifiers in Lithuania, where he may face his brother Tyler, who is representing Scotland.

For the last four matches, Mainoo has been the sole academy graduate in United’s squad. While goalkeeper Tom Heaton is another academy product, he currently serves as the third-choice keeper behind Altay Bayındır and Senne Lammens.

This season, another academy player, Stockport-born Tyler Fredricson, made an appearance in the squad during the EFL Cup loss against Grimsby.

Manchester United takes great pride in its history, maintaining a record that includes at least one academy graduate or “homegrown player” in every matchday squad since 1937. This streak, which spans over 4,000 consecutive games, began on October 30, 1937, with the inclusion of Tom Manley and Jack Wassall during an away match against Fulham.

The club defines a homegrown player as someone who signed before the age of 21, has not played for another senior team, and has participated in junior teams at United.

Coach Amorim has expressed his commitment to continuing this tradition, asserting that he would not be the coach to break this remarkable record. However, minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has recently raised concerns regarding the academy’s standards, indicating that they have “really slipped.”