Kai Rooney, Jacey Carrick Among 15 United Scholars as Carrick Attends Signing Day

Manchester United have confirmed 15 youngsters have signed first-year scholarship contracts with the club, with newly installed head coach Michael Carrick among those present at the ceremony marking the occasion – an event that underlined both the weight the club still places on its academy and the tone Carrick intends to set from the outset.

The headline names are Kai Rooney and Jacey Carrick – two players whose surnames carry obvious weight at Old Trafford. Kai was pictured with his father Wayne, United’s record goalscorer, at the signing ceremony. The pair had already attracted attention after posting pictures together on social media over the weekend, photographs taken when their dads were still playing for the club.

Kai Rooney interacts with supporters while wearing the Manchester United home kit.

Michael Carrick was also photographed alongside another of the new intake: Gazimagamed Ibragimov, younger brother of Amir, who started last season’s FA Youth Cup final defeat against Manchester City before going on to earn a senior international cap for Russia. The family connection to the club’s academy pathway gives Gazik a useful frame of reference few teenagers in the Professional Development Phase can claim.

A Proud Academy Tradition

According to BBC Sport journalist Simon Stone, the event was the first of its kind since Stephen Torpey took over as academy director. Torpey addressed the occasion directly, saying he feels privileged to carry forward the role as the next custodian of the club’s academy. Former United and England defender Wes Brown also spoke at the event.

Edson de Jonge-Seiros adds another chapter to Fletcher Moss Rangers’ long-standing pipeline into United’s academy system – a tradition that produced Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford, among others. The Didsbury club’s ability to keep placing players into United’s pathway is a story worth tracking in its own right.

The broader context matters here. A homegrown player has featured in every United matchday squad since October 1937, and twelve former academy graduates were named in squads for eight different countries at this summer’s World Cup. Those numbers are not accidental – they reflect a sustained structural commitment that the club has maintained across successive eras of leadership.

All 15 Head to Germany

The full cohort of new scholars – Jaume Camacho Sidos, Jacey Carrick, Edson de Jonge-Seiros, Harley Emsden-James, Idris Fabiyi, Jake Ford, Gazimagamed Ibragimov, Connor Laurie, Harlem McLaughlin, Camron Mpofu, Jodie Nganga, Samuel O’Brien, Kai Rooney, Pharell Silvester, and Emmanuel Ziro – are now part of a Professional Development Phase squad trip to Germany.

Manchester United academy players training at the Carrington facility.

Carrick’s presence at the ceremony was not ceremonial padding. The newly installed head coach chose to attend and be photographed with the incoming scholars, a gesture that reflects the importance the club continues to place on its academy at the highest level.

Whether any of the new intake follow the path of their fathers – or, in the Ibragimov case, their older brother – to senior football at Old Trafford is a question years in the making. For now, the scholarships are signed, the coach was watching, and the squad heads to Germany for the next stage of their development.