Kai Rooney among fifteen youngsters to get Man United scholarship alongside legend’s son

Manchester United have announced their latest batch of first year scholars and there’s some familiar names on the list.

Kai Rooney, the son of record Red Devils goalscorer Wayne, was a notable name to sign his scholarship contract.

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Current Man United boss and fellow club legend Michael Carrick’s son Jacey is also among the 13-time Premier League champions’ new academy intake.

Man United’s next generation

Rooney and Carrick, both 16, signed their youth contracts in a formal ceremony held at Old Trafford, with former academy graduate Wes Brown present.

Man United have long been famed for their production of young talent, with academy director Stephen Torpey – who took on the role last year – saying: “I feel privileged to carry the baton forward as the next custodian of this football club’s great academy.”

The Red Devils’ ‘Class of 2026’ all received a shirt with their name and ‘26’ on the back to mark the special day.

Kai Rooney’s footballing journey so far has certainly been an interesting one, having initially joined the Man United academy back in 2016.

But the forward switched to arch-rivals Manchester City just a couple of months later, before playing for the Maryland-based Bethesda Soccer Club after his father moved to the USA to join MLS side D.C. United in 2018.

He returned to Man United in 2020 and broke the U12 team’s single-season goals record, scoring 56 times.

Rooney and Jacey Carrick featured for the Red Devils’ U18s’ last term despite still only being 16.

Over the weekend, the pair posted photos on social media to commemorate the momentous next step in the burgeoning careers.

Rooney and Carrick junior could go on to join a select group of fathers and sons who have represented the Man United first team.

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Jack and Tyler Fletcher, the twin sons of Premier League-winning midfielder and Man United U18 boss Darren, were the most recent to do so.

An impressive production line

A host of legendary Man United players have come through the club’s youth system and gone on to enjoy great success at Old Trafford.

The two most famous cohorts are Sir Matt Busby’s ‘Busby Babes’ and Sir Alex Ferguson’s ‘Class of ‘92’ aka ‘Fergie’s Fledglings’.

The former included the likes of Duncan Edwards and Tommy Taylor, back-to-back First Division champions and two of the eight players who tragically died in the Munich Air disaster of 1958.

Among the latter were modern greats such as David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, all of whom won multiple Premier League titles under Ferguson.

In more recent years, players such as Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo have graduated from the academy to become first-team regulars for Man United.

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As well as the aforementioned Fletcher brothers, two other academy players made their senior debuts for Man United last season: Shea Lacey and Bendito Mantato.

Carrick’s side begin the new Premier League campaign away to newly promoted Hull City on August 22.

They have yet to make any signings so far this summer but remain linked with a number of players, including Chelsea’s Andrey Santos, talkSPORT understands.