Man Utd had the ‘next Scholes’ in Carrington but Ten Hag let him go for £0

One of the most esteemed academies in world football is Manchester United’s Carrington.

You can go back as far as you want in football history; United have always produced some of the best academy graduates.

In recent years, a few stars have truly defended the flag of the Red Devils academy. The main name that comes to mind is Marcus Rashford, who now plies his trade at Barcelona, ​​where he flies.

For his boyhood club, the Wythenshawe-born sensation racked up 426 appearances, scoring 138 goals and providing 79 assists.

Kobbie Mainoo is a more recent example. He was brought in by Erik ten Hag, although the Dutchman was quite ruthless when it came to giving academy stars a chance.

The academy’s best prospects let go under the leadership of Ten Hag

It’s understandably quite difficult to break into the first team at a club the size of United. There were a few players, like Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho, who Ten Hag gave a platform to. Yet others failed to succeed and were sold by the former United boss, only to prosper at other clubs.

Alvaro Carreras certainly fits this profile. The 22-year-old joined Real Madrid this summer after shining at Benfica. He never actually played a first-team match at Old Trafford, with Ten Hag opting not to give him his debut.

He moved to Portugal permanently last summer following a loan spell in 2023/24, before joining Los Blancos in 2025. He started every La Liga game under Xabi Alonso, operating at left-back and even as a centre-back.

Anthony Elanga could also fall into the same category. Although he flourished under Ralf Rangnick and scored a huge goal against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, he only played 26 times under Ten Hag before joining Nottingham Forest.

This summer he joined Newcastle United for a huge fee of £55million, but is yet to find the net for the Toon.

Both players could, quite realistically, have succeeded in a different era. The same could be said of United’s new Paul Scholes. At least that’s how it was described at the time.

Ten Hag drops Man Utd ‘next Scholes’

There is no doubt that over the years some academy sales made under Ten Hag have been mistakes. The decision to move Carreras, for example, must sting United fans given his performances in Madrid.

When the Red Devils decided not to renew Shola Shoretire’s contract in 2024, it ended a United career that saw the Newcastle-born midfielder become the youngest player to appear for the club in a European match, aged 17 years and 23 days.

It’s safe to say that in his youth, the former United number 47 was incredibly highly rated.

Stephen Rutherford, his junior club’s director of football, said he would “compare Shola to Paul Scholes”, which is high praise indeed.

Shoretire’s record for United’s academy was impressive. In Premier League 2, he played 61 times, scoring 29 goals and assisting a further 18 goals. He operated everywhere in midfield and even on the wing.

Unfortunately for Shoretire, he was only able to accumulate five first-team appearances at Old Trafford. A loan spell at Bolton Wanderers saw him gain first-team opportunities, but he left Old Trafford when his contract expired in 2024.

He joined Greek club PAOK on a free transfer and now plays on loan at PEC Zwolle in the Netherlands. This comparison with Scholes seems to be a long time ago now.

Under Ten Hag, the 21-year-old has only appeared on the bench four times. Despite his excellent form at the academy, the Dutchman never gave Shoretire more of an opportunity to showcase his skills at senior level.

It may still be the one that United fans look back on and reflect on what could have been. Their youngest European player was clearly very talented, and being compared to Scholes is no mean feat.

Perhaps if Ten Hag had given him more of a platform he could have proven his worth at United.