One of Manchester United’s FA Youth Cup winning stars is building his legacy with the under-18s, and it is full of trophies.
Up until the start of this month, the last Manchester United academy team to win a notable trophy was the 2022 FA Youth Cup winning side.
This talented team has already seen two players becomefirst team regulars in successive season, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
There could be more to follow, and one of them has just added two more trophies to his CV.
Louis Jackson wins third under-18s trophy
Centre-back Louis Jackson was one of the starters in Manchester United’s Youth Cup final win in 2022, he was only 16 at the time.
Having started only one round prior, Jackson was parachuted into the starting XI after Tyler Fredricson went down with an illness in the lead-up to the final.
Jackson shone in central defence alongside Rhys Bennett, and with United winning 3-1 over Forest in front of 70,000 fans at Old Trafford.
While Garnacho and Mainoo have moved up, Jackson has been having the extra time he still needed with the under-18s, and has continued to flourish.
This season he was a key part of the team which won the under-18s Premier League North title, losing only one game all season.
Jackson has formed an impressive partnership with fellow Scotland youth international Jack Kingdon in central defence.
The team have conceded only 24 goals in 22 games this season, a very strong record for academy football where goals tend to flow at a high rate.
He has chipped in with some important goals too, netting a winner over City’s under-18s earlier in the year, and a goal in the Premier League Cup quarter-final win over Arsenal.
Last night he won his second trophy this month, and third in total for the under-18s as the Red Devils won the Premier League Cup final.
Ethan Wheatley took the plaudits for a brace in a 2-1 win, and rightly so. But the 45 minutes Jackson played, United were defensively dominant, keeping a clean sheet in that half.
Jackson has been a constant in this successful stretch for United’s under-18s, and there might be a little more silverware ahead too.
As winners of the Premier League North, United will take on the southern winners, expected to be Chelsea, in a final to determine the national champions.
Louis Jackson in first team mix
Amid a defensive crisis, Louis Jackson is now in the mix for the first team, due to an unprecedented number of centre-backs currently out injured.
Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, Jonny Evans, Willy Kambwala and Luke Shaw are all unavailable.
This is the reason Jackson only played 45 minutes of last night’s final.Erik ten Hag needs him as defensive cover in the first team.
Having played in front of a big crowd at Old Trafford before, he will be ready against Sheffield United if called upon, and even more confident after adding more silverware to his CV.
Jackson was on the first team bench at Wembley for the FA Cup semi-final, and while unused substitute, he was thrilled to be in and around the first team squad.
There is going to be a lot of shuffling at centre-back in the summer with incomings and outgoings, but Jackson is a player on the rise, who is making a real name for himself. There is a real possibility he gets a first team debut to make his mark before 2023/24 is out.