Shea Lacey: Man Utd's dribbling sensation who was imitating Ronaldinho at three years old and has converted his Liverpool family to Red Devils' cause

Lacey hails from a family steeped in football. His father attended the Liverpool academy during the era of Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish although never played for the senior team, while his eldest brother Paddy also came through the Reds' ranks before playing professionally for Accrington Stanley. His other brother Luis spent time at United's academy and has played in the Welsh top flight as well as in the English non-leagues. But Shea, born in 2007, stood out among his family.

"They had a goal in the back garden, a bit of astro turf, and you could just see straight away the things he could do with a football were beyond what me and me brother could do," older brother Paddy Lacey tells GOAL. "Shea could do the Ronaldinho flip flap when he was three years old. That was his little trick. In every game he’d go to the corner and flip flap and he would get away with it. He's well known for it where we live in Liverpool. Then he started doing it at Man United and everywhere."

Lacey trained with Liverpool, Everton, Blackburn and Man City but his father chose United because he felt the Red Devils was the best place for him to make the most of his dribbling ability. The family were also impressed with the way the club educated their youngsters.

Paddy explains: "Some coaches would interfere even at five and say 'Shea, don't, dribble all the time, just pass' and my dad was thinking, 'If you can dribble, get good at dribbling.' They didn’t half look after him. There’s loads of great things for the kids at United as you're coming through even at five. They make you look into every coach's eyes, you’ve got to shake every coach's hand. You've got to learn to talk and have personal development. Shea was a very shy kid and they brought him out of his shell." 

The longer Shea spent at United, the more he grew to love the club he played for and the less he cared for Liverpool. This was despite having a season ticket at Anfield and witnessing epic matches such as the 4-0 thrashing of Barcelona in 2019. Paddy adds: "United always looked after him, they always rolled out the red carpet for Shea. He was captain of every age group so it was a complex in his head: 'Am I Man United or am I Liverpool?' He chose the dark side!"

Paddy knew his brother was doing great things at youth level because he would come back from tournaments where United had competed against the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus, and he would routinely come home clutching the Player of the Tournament trophy. One year he beat a young Lamine Yamal to the prize.

Paddy shared an image of him with all the trophies on social media but was urged by United to remove the picture to prevent him getting overhyped and too much pressure being put on him. Paddy obliged but soon enough his brother's performances spoke too loud to be ignored any more.

He scored his first goal for the U18s when he was aged 15: a stunning long range strike away to Wolves which flew into the top corner after he had dribbled across the pitch from the touchline. He scored an even better goal in the return fixture at home to Wolves towards the end of the season, weaving his way from the touchline through the defence and along the byline before dinking the ball over the goalkeeper.

Lacey notched five goals and five assists across 19 appearances in his first two seasons with the U18s, despite missing several months due to injury. He earned more fanfare online for two impressive goals in a 5-1 drubbing of Newcastle in 2023 and, just after his 17th birthday in April 2024, he signed a professional contract with the club.

The winger earned huge praise last season for a defiant cameo in a Premier League Cup match against Tottenham, coming on with his team trailing 4-0 and scoring two fine goals as they dragged their way back to 4-3. Lacey was then included in the squad for United's end-of-season tour of Asia, playing a combined 45 minutes across the two games against ASEAN All Stars and Hong Kong.

He was not shy about playing alongside household names and in one of the matches he was berated by Casemiro for continuing to dribble rather than pass to him. Bruno Fernandes could also be seen tapping him on a shoulder after buying a foul.

While he did not have a tangible impact in either game in terms of scoring or assisting, he produced no shortage of exciting dribbles and his fanbase saw it as confirmation that he was going to make it in the senior team. According to Paddy, though, Shea is largely unaffected by the hype around him.

"Shea’s dead humble, he doesn’t really care for things like that," he says. "It doesn’t bother him whatsoever. He’s used to it, he’s 18 now and there’s been a bit of a buzz from about 14 onwards from some of the clips of what he was doing and goals but he just wants to play for the first team, however long it takes."

Lacey is represented by Triple S Sports, the same talent management agency which looks after Wayne Rooney and Harry Maguire. And United's all-time top scorer is well aware of the buzz about Lacey, calling him up to tell him "You're doing brilliant, keep doing what you're doing."

Lacey's dribbling ability is his most notable attribute while he packs a mean punch with his left foot. But for Paddy "it is all about his awareness". He recalls: "When Shea was 12 I was a professional. I was non-league for Chester, and I thought it'd be so easy to tackle a 12-year-old kid. But I quickly realised that it's so hard with his awareness. He knows how to buy a foul, he dribbles the right side so you can’t get the ball. His jinkiness, his twisting and turning even at 12, and I was a grown man, it's exceptional."

Paddy also cites his brother's movement and "the way he can change direction very quickly". His movement and awareness can be traced to his love for boxing. He only boxed for two years and made it to the national final in his age group, losing on a split decision. He had a good reason for losing, though: he had had his teeth removed the night before.

"He boxed for two seasons, he started to like it too much, so my dad said he’s stopping," says Paddy, who became a professional middleweight boxer in 2021 and has won all 10 of his fights. "He was obsessed with it. He was the most talented at boxing in the family, he was unbelievable. My pro coach said whenever Shea packs in football - be it 36 or 37 - he has to pick it up again because what he’s got can’t be taught."

Lacey has been encouraged by his family to work on his heading and on improving his right foot. "He’s never scored a header since he was a kid so we need to get it into his head," Paddy explains. "We keep showing him Messi scoring headers saying if he can, you can. His right foot’s improving, he’s started scoring more right-foot goals but he could certainly improve on that.

"Loads of things will happen as he comes along, physically, as he gets a bit old and a bit more mature, he'll be able to do more and more stuff. He's got a good attitude. He lives and breathes it, he’s first one in training and last one out. It’ll pay dividends as time goes on."

Not many English players get compared to Lionel Messi but Lacey has been likened to the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner for his dribbling skills. Paddy says Shea "adored Messi since he was a baby, he watched him all day and all night" and revealed his brother's love for Eden Hazard.

But he personally sees the most similarities in another left-footer with a low centre of gravity who spent his life in the academy of a Manchester club before rising to the first team. "I see Phil Foden myself, the running action, the way they take the ball is very similar. He is the one I see the most similarities with."

Lacey will be primarily playing for United's U21s next season but he has his eyes on making it into Amorim's team, which is why there are no plans for him to go out on loan. And United's five pre-season matches are the ideal opportunity for him to show what he is made of. Amorim has demonstrated a willingness to give youth a chance after handing Ayden Heaven, Chido Obi, Tyler Fredricson and Harry Amass their first-team debuts last season. And there is a feeling that Lacey will be among the next raft of youngsters to make the step up.

"Shea seems to think he is [ready for the first team]. When he has trained, he has said that he's doing well, so he seems confident of forcing a way in at some point," Paddy says. "He’s waited, he's been there since he was four and a half and he’s finally started getting close to the first team. Seeing him on the pitch with those people, it was kind of surreal for us because he's been there so long. It's starting to happen for him now. He had a couple of bad injuries as he was growing, as some kids tend to do, but now he's starting to get a real taste for it. He’s very eager, let me tell you."

Paddy recognises he is a completely different player to Shea but he has plenty to offer his younger brother in terms of what to do off the pitch. "I give him advice off the field, what to stay away from, attitude, older pros, how to speak to people, be on time etc," he says. "He’s marvellous and that’s why I’m so confident in him to go on and have a great career because he lives the life. What I was up to at 18, you know, going out and drinking, it was just daft. He is just the complete opposite, he lives a boring life but he’s happy living it and you’ve got to, to be one of those top, top players in the Premier League.

"Fingers crossed he stays fit and he just makes it work, breaks his way into the first team. I think he can add something, he’s a fantastic sub and when he's ready to be able to be a starter for Man United, all the family will be there watching it. I think there'll be a lot of half and half Liverpool and Man United fans when Shea plays for the first team - as all our family will be willing him on."