Manchester United have confirmed that 15 young players have signed first-year scholarship deals with the club, with newly appointed head coach Michael Carrick among those present at the ceremony to mark the occasion — an event that highlighted both the importance the club still attaches to its academy and the tone Carrick appears keen to set from the very beginning.

The standout names are Kai Rooney and Jacey Carrick — two youngsters whose surnames naturally carry significance at Old Trafford. Kai was photographed with his father Wayne Rooney, United’s all-time leading goalscorer, during the signing event. The duo had already drawn attention after pictures of them together surfaced over the weekend, with those images dating back to the time when their fathers were still playing for the club.

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

Michael Carrick was also pictured alongside another member of the new intake, Gazimagamed Ibragimov, the younger brother of Amir Ibragimov. Amir started in last season’s FA Youth Cup final defeat to Manchester City before later earning a senior international cap for Russia. That family link to the club’s academy route gives Gazik a point of reference that very few teenagers in the Professional Development Phase can match.

According to BBC Sport journalist Simon Stone, this was the first event of its kind since Stephen Torpey became academy director. Torpey addressed those in attendance and said he feels privileged to continue in the role as the next custodian of the club’s academy. Former Manchester United and England defender Wes Brown also spoke during the event.

Edson de Jonge-Seiros represents another example of Fletcher Moss Rangers’ long-running pathway into United’s academy structure — a tradition that has previously produced players such as Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford. The Didsbury club’s continued ability to send players into United’s development system remains a story worth following in its own right.

The wider context is significant. A homegrown player has been included in every Manchester United matchday squad since October 1937, while 12 former academy graduates were named in squads for eight different countries at this summer’s World Cup. Those figures are no coincidence — they point to a long-term structural commitment that the club has preserved through successive leadership eras.

The full group 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 train at the Carrington facility.

Carrick’s appearance at the ceremony was more than a symbolic gesture. The newly appointed head coach made the decision to attend and be photographed with the incoming scholars, underlining the value the club continues to place on its academy at the highest level.

Whether any of this new intake go on to follow their fathers — or, in Ibragimov’s case, his elder brother — into senior football at Old Trafford is something that will be determined over the coming years. For now, the scholarship agreements are in place, the head coach has taken note, and the squad is heading to Germany for the next phase of its development.