Barring 15-year-old JJ Gabriel coming in for England Under-20 striker Ethan Wheatley, who has a minor calf problem, Manchester United’s 25-man squad for their first two pre-season games in Helsinki and Trondheim has stayed the same.

That surely means anyone from the academy who has a chance of breaking into Michael Carrick’s senior squad consistently this season will come from that group.

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It means the academy players not involved – including the likes of Gibraltar international James Scanlon, midfielder Jack Moorhouse, who spent the first half of last season at Leyton Orient, and Gabriele Biancheri, who was at Rotherham, will have to seriously consider their next moves.

Australia full-back James Overy also falls into that group.

Overy missed a lot of football with United last term after being picked for both the Under-20 World Cup and Under-23 Asian Cup.

However, the Perth-born youngster did come on as a second-half substitute in the FA Youth Cup final defeat by Manchester City in May.

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He is coveted by plenty of A League sides, who are keen to sign Overy on loan, but there is also interest in the 18-year-old, who earned his first call-up to the senior Socceroos squad last season, in Europe.