Arjun Menon
Fletcher Set to Replace Injured Mainoo
Manchester United midfielder Jack Fletcher is expected to replace the injured Kobbie Mainoo in the squad for Saturday’s Premier League clash at Tottenham Hotspur. This move would maintain the club’s remarkable 88-year record of featuring an academy graduate in every matchday squad.
Mainoo, 20, did not travel to London with Rúben Amorim‘s squad and is believed to have sustained a minor injury. In his place, England youth international Jack Fletcher, son of former United midfielder and current Under-18s coach Darren Fletcher, has joined the squad.
Read also: Tottenham vs Manchester United Prediction: 08.11.2025 English Premier League
A Debut on the Horizon
The 18-year-old Fletcher is yet to make his first-team debut for United but was on the bench on several occasions last season. He and his twin brother Tyler joined United from Manchester City‘s academy in 2023. Jack was recently selected for England’s Under-19 squad for the upcoming European Championship qualifiers in Lithuania, where he could face Tyler, who is part of Scotland’s squad.
United’s Academy Legacy
For the past four games, Mainoo has been the sole academy graduate in United’s squad. Other academy products include goalkeeper Tom Heaton, though the 39-year-old is third choice behind Altay Bayındır and Senne Lammens. Tyler Fredricson, who started the EFL Cup loss at Grimsby Town, is another academy product who has featured this season.
United boasts a proud tradition of including an academy graduate, or ‘homegrown player,’ in every matchday squad since 1937. This sequence, spanning over 4,000 consecutive games, began on October 30, 1937, when Tom Manley and Jack Wassall played in an away game at Fulham.
United defines a homegrown player as one who signed before the age of 21, having not played for another senior team, and played for a junior team at United. Amorim has stated he would not be the coach to break this record, though minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has recently criticized the academy, stating standards have ‘really slipped.’