Where are they now? The 13 Man Utd academy graduates let go in 2024
Manchester United shed more than a starting XI’s worth of academy graduates in the summer of 2024 – but how have they all fared since?
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s first summer in charge saw United sell or release 13 homegrown players in an attempt to cut costs.
We’ve done some digging to investigate what’s become of every academy graduate that United released or sold last summer.
Scott McTominay
From being underappreciated at United to Serie A Player of the Year with Napoli, it’s been a meteoric 12 months for McTominay.
Scorer of 12 league goals as Napoli won the title, the 28-year-old is having the time of his life out in Naples.
Even taking FFP into account, United’s decision to sell the midfielder was head-scratching at best.
Alvaro Carreras
Carreras was surprisingly let go in January 2024, signing on loan for Benfica with an option to make the deal permanent, despite Erik ten Hag having to deal with an injury crisis at left-back.
Highly rated at youth level at the club, not giving Carreras has immediately proven a misstep, with him flying at Benfica.
Crucially, United have a buyback clause in the deal. But it’s likely the defender will move to Real Madrid this summer instead.
Facundo Pellistri
Pellistri spent three years earning his stripes at youth level and then on two separate loans with Alaves before being trusted with United’s first team.
The Uruguay international slotted seamlessly into United’s under-23 setup, but was only handed his competitive debut against Charlton Athletic in January 2023.
Sporadic appearances followed, but he never looked likely to make the cut and was sold to Panathinaikos for £5.1million last summer.
The winger scored four times in 31 appearances for the Greek side in 2024-25 and played against Chelsea in the Conference League.
Mason Greenwood
Greenwood was sold to Marseille for a fee of up to £26.6million and scored 22 goals in 36 games last season.
Willy Kambwala
Kambwala became the 248th player to graduate from United’s youth system after he made his senior debut against West Ham in December 2023.
The defender was still very raw, but the early signs of potential were obvious to see.
This made it strange that United decided to sell the defender to Villarreal for £10million, although some have attributed the decision to those pesky FFP rules.
Kambwala made his La Liga debut against Sevilla and went on to make 21 appearances in 2024-25 despite suffering the recurrence of a knee problem.
He’ll be playing Champions League football next term. United won’t.
Charlie McNeill
When McNeill crossed the divide and swapped City for United in 2020, everyone held their breath.
A childhood United fan who had scored hundreds of goals for City at youth level, it felt like a huge coup for United.
He enjoyed a successful debut season at youth level in 2020-21 and made his senior debut in September 2022, but left this summer after failing to impress on loan and never really kicking on.
McNeill scored a brace on debut after signing for Sheffield Wednesday last summer, but struggled for minutes since.
The financial turmoil at Hillsborough means the winger’s future is still up in air, along with the rest of his Wednesday team-mates.
Shola Shoretire
Shoretire still holds the record as the youngest player to appear for United in European competition, taking the record off Norman Whiteside as a substitute in the Europa League in 2021 against Real Sociedad.
Like McNeill, he found himself lost in the shuffle and struggling to kick on at senior level.
Shoretire signed for Greek side PAOK last summer and returned to Old Trafford in the Europa League group stages.
He scored four times in 25 appearances in 2024-25 and will be looking to kick on this year.
Kie Plumley
A boyhood United fan who joined for free from Oxford United, Plumley only spent one year on the books at the club before leaving this summer.
He was signed primarily to bolster the numbers in the goalkeeper department and provide competition.
Plumley now finds himself playing for Ascot United in the Isthmian League South Central Division.
Marcus Lawrence
A right-back by trade, Lawrence remains without a club after leaving United in the summer.
The 19-year-old had signed professional terms in 2021 and has kept a low profile since his departure.
Brandon Williams
Williams, who made a strong impression in 2019-20 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, spent last season out on loan with Ipswich Town where he made 17 appearances and scored two goals.
There have been reports of ill-discipline and a lack of focus that have seen William’s career stall, but the 25-year-old has the talent to become a capable full-back, especially in the Championship.
He is currently unattached and is still looking for a new club.
Omari Forson
Forson impressed in pre-season in the summer of 2023 and made a somewhat unexpected breakthrough as a result, making his official United debut in a win over Wigan in the FA Cup.
He also assisted Kobbie Mainoo’s memorable winner away to Wolves, but turned down a new deal at the end of the season to sign for Serie A side Monza.
The 20-year-old made 11 appearances for his new club, but was unable to stop being relegated from Italy’s top flight.
Maxi Oyedele
Doing his best to prove United were wrong for letting him slip through the cracks, Oyedele began his spell at Legia Warsaw in stunning form.
The Salford-born midfielder received his first senior cap for Poland in September 2024, starting against Portugal in the Nations League before earning his second against Croatia.
He went on to make 24 appearances at club level last year.
Will Fish
Making his senior debut as a substitute against Wolves at the end of the 2020-21 season, Fish was loaned out three times before eventually leaving United permanently this summer.
The defender signed for Cardiff on a four-year deal, but was relegated from the Championship in his first season.
Fish will be part of a Cardiff squad playing lower league football for the first time since 2003. There will be a lot of expectation to get them back into the second tier.
Hannibal
After winning the Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year in May 2021, Hannibal made his first-team debut under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer days later in a win over Wolves.
But the Tunisia international left Old Trafford for Burnley in a deal worth up to £9.4million, ending his five-year spell with United after struggling to secure regular first-team football.
Hannibal became a regular at Turf Moor, playing 39 times as Scott Parker’s side made an instant return to the Premier League.
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