This week's Man Utd academy notebook on the latest ongoings, brought to you by the Manchester Evening News.
04:00, 15 May 2025
Hello and welcome to this week's Manchester United academy notebook.
The Manchester Evening News provide more coverage of United's academy than any other outlet and we experimented by publishing an academy notebook last season.
The notebook was brought back during the 2024/25 campaign and its purpose is to provide readers with digestible information about the current ongoings around the youth setup.
It will be published every Thursday and here is the latest academy news...
Lawrence leaves United
Last week, the Manchester Evening News reported that Lawrence was likely to leave United's academy and his departure has now been confirmed as he looks for a new challenge.
Sources have said Lawrence is open to working in a first-team environment or a fresh academy challenge for the next step of his career. The 39-year-old has been offered roles in English Football League first-team coaching set-ups and is currently weighing up his next move ahead of the new season.
Neil Wood was the last high-profile coaching departure from the academy. Wood managed the U21s for three years and he was appointed at Class of '92-owned Salford after his exit.
Lawrence seems likely to take a similar route and could manage a first-team next season.
Cox bids farewell to Lawrence
Head of the academy, Nick Cox, thanked Lawrence for his contribution, saying: "Adam has contributed greatly to our club throughout his four years at Manchester United.
"His passion for helping young players to maximise their potential has played an important role in the success of our academy system. We take great pride in supporting and witnessing the development of our staff, Adam is a fine example of that, moving up from the Under-16s to the Under-18s, enjoying success and now being ready to seek a new challenge in the game.
"The whole of the academy thanks Adam for his service and wishes him the very best of luck for the future."
It's understood talks are already under way to find a suitable replacement for Lawrence, with Cox and Jason Wilcox in the process of deciding who could continue his good work at Carrington.
Mantato called up to England
Bendito Mantato signed his first professional contract with United last week, and it was confirmed on Monday that he will represent England at the upcoming 2025 U17 European Championship.
The most talented youngsters in the country have been included in the squad. Mantato is regarded as a rising star at United and he was named on the first-team bench for home and away legs against Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League.
The MEN reported in November that Mantato could be promoted to the first-team by Ruben Amorim and the youngster has subsequently been involved in senior squads.
The academy awards
Academy staff will decide which youngsters deserve to win the Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year award and Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award, which both have an illustrious roll of honour.
Last season, Ethan Wheatley won the Jimmy Murphy award and goalkeeper Elyh Harrison won the Denzil Haroun award.
Mantato, Chido Obi, Jaydan Kamason, Gabriele Biancheri, Tyler Fletcher and James Scanlon are among the youngsters who have a chance of picking up an academy prize this term.
Ibrovic-Fletcher makes his debut
I mentioned Edward Ibrovic-Fletcher in an edition of the academy notebook at the beginning of last month, and he was handed his debut for the Under-18s on the final day of their season.
The 16-year-old came on from the bench to play the final 20 minutes against Sunderland.
Ibrovic-Fletcher has a dual heritage in England and Serbia, and he's played for the latter's youth teams. He's an exciting talent and is worth keeping an eye on.