Plans still in place for United’s Under-23s

One of the highlights of the campaign for Wood came very early on as the Reds beat Rotherham United in the Leasing.com Trophy in August, and continued to have a fulfilling experience in the competition after entering it for the first time.

Academy player performance manager Les Parry told us he was inundated with loan enquiries for players after that match at the New York Stadium as it showed the youngsters could handle senior football.

“The memory that sticks in my mind is the Rotherham game,” said Wood. “I can remember the first goal. Brandon [Williams] played in Ethan Laird and he scored the first goal, with just all the fans cheering and the lads celebrating. We played some really good football and dominated the game. As the season went on, Rotherham were towards the top in League One and you start to think that those group of players gave a good account of themselves.

”There some really top individual performances – Matej Kovar in goal, Ethan Laird, Angel Gomes was outstanding that night. When I look back, it’s a real good memory so it doesn’t surprise me that clubs were in for them. I think other teams watch the Under-23s games and it doesn’t matter how well you play because they can just say: ‘Well, it’s an Under-23s match’.

”When you have a group of players in the Leasing.com Trophy against first-team opponents, grown men, and they’ve risen to the occasion and standing out, doing well and coming out of games with victories, I think league managers can look a bit more seriously at those talented players in our Under-23s squad.