Man Utd lost 4-1 against Anderlecht in the Premier League International Cup at Leigh Sports Village on Tuesday night.
The U21s were defeated 4-1 against Anderlecht.(Image: 2025 Manchester United FC)
Manchester United Under-21s rocked up to Leigh Sports Village on Tuesday night with high profile academy names Shea Lacey, Chido Obi, Sekou Kone and Diego Leon missing from the squad. The question now is what happens to those players in the January transfer window.
Obi has not made a first-team squad this season, Lacey was on the bench for successive Premier League games against Everton and Crystal Palace, and Diego Leon and Sekou Kone are in between the U21s and senior side. The early expectation is Lacey and Obi will be kept in the building, but loan offers will be considered for Leon and Kone, who would benefit from playing senior football in the second half of the campaign.
There are other candidates for a loan who started against Anderlecht on Tuesday night in the Premier League International Cup, such as Jacob Devaney, Gabriele Biancheri, Jayce Fitzgerald and James Scanlon. That would take the potential loan departures to six. The selection process at United ahead of the winter window involves evaluating players who may have stagnated in academy football and determining whether a change of scenery would be beneficial.
Devaney, who captained the U21s from the base of the midfield on Tuesday, has delivered consistently strong performances this season, and excelled for Ireland’s U21s against England during the November international break, emerging with credit against the likes of Jobe Bellingham, Ethan Nwaneri and Lewis Hall.
That display suggested he could rise to the challenge of a loan spell further down the English football pyramid. Biancheri would also benefit from a spell away because he isn’t getting much from U21 football. He had the thankless task of leading the attack against Anderlecht, and looked understandably frustrated as he drifted throughout the first half with no service up front.
The Welshman has trained with the senior national teams of Wales and Canada (he’s eligible to represent both), experience which would stand him in good stead if he leaves on loan.
Devaney pictured against Anderlecht.(Image: 2025 Manchester United FC)
Scanlon was born in the Midlands but represents Gibraltar on the international stage, and he scored a brilliant goal against the Faroe Islands in a World Cup qualifier last summer. He is another who should be considered for a loan, along with Fitzgerald, who has slightly plateaued after being named in senior squads against Chelsea and PAOK last season.
Scanlon and Biancheri offered little in the final third in the first half against Anderlecht, but United struggled as a collective, conceding multiple chances against an aggressive Belgian side. U21 manager Travis Binnion pleaded with his side to “keep the ball” after spells of Anderlecht pressure, encouraging the youngsters to give themselves a breather and a foothold in the contest.
It was communicated ahead of the fixture that Binnion would not be permitted to speak to the handful of local reporters who made the trip to Leigh. That is not on Binnion, who has always been hugely generous with his time, but instead a strange decision from the club.
United didn’t keep the ball much in a disappointing first half, but they were ahead at the interval, taking the lead on the stroke of half-time thanks to a powerful header from Devaney.
The Anderlecht coach, dressed in a Winter Olympics-esque tracksuit, could not believe his side had fallen behind given his side had squandered four great chances and their wastefulness was punished.
They were deservedly level just minutes into the second half when forward Enzo Sternal pounced on a spilt shot and equalised. The Anderlecht staff celebrated as if it were a goal in the World Cup final.
Terry van de Ven fired the visitors into a 2-1 lead shortly afterwards. More exaggerated celebrations followed and Binnion shook his head on the touchline. Then Anderlecht scored a third goal. And then a fourth.
What Binnion will learn from the game is up for debate. There are conversations ongoing about which players will leave on loan, and brain power should be put into arranging spells away in the January window.
It’s easier said than done to find an appropriate loan for academy players, especially in the winter window, but there are at least six players who won’t gain much from continuing to play youth games.
It will be fascinating to see which academy players have left by the end of January.
