Manchester United academy coaches are level-headed when they speak about young players. They want to temper expectations, but the mask slips when a lad from Liverpool is mentioned. "Listen, everybody in the world knows about Shea Lacey," Travis Binnion effused in September. It may have sounded exaggerated, but Lacey has been the talk of academy circles since he was a boy.
Adam Lawrence discussed Lacey earlier this week before pausing for a moment to consider his words. "Shea can do things with the ball that, without getting too carried away... are genuinely first-team level," he said. Those admissions alone are enough to tell you that Lacey is a wonderfully gifted footballer, but any fan who watched his first-team cameos against Burnley and Brighton should already know that.
Lacey came close to scoring a winner against Burnley at Turf Moor in January, striking the crossbar from the edge of the box. "Where has he been?" Gary Neville quipped on commentary.
Darren Fletcher turned to Lacey on the bench in the closing stages against Brighton in the FA Cup third round. His fearlessness on the wing was a breath of fresh air, but the youngster picked up a second yellow card for throwing the ball to the ground in frustration.
United fans applauded Lacey as he returned to the dressing room. The youngster looked distraught and pulled his shirt over his head. "He's disappointed because he cares and he understands and he knows he will learn from it. There is no doubt about his talent," said Fletcher.
"And it was a steep learning curve today, but we believe in Shea. He's one of our most exciting young prospects, and I'm sure at Old Trafford he will have a chance to make amends for that in the future."
Lacey served his suspension and was last named in a senior squad against Fulham on February 1. He then picked up a minor injury, but has now fully recovered and rejoined first-team training.
"Shea is quite a unique case that you don't see a lot because he's always had a higher level, like elite technical levels," interim Under-21 manager Lawrence told us.
"He's been a later developer physically. So with the physical side of the game, those players need more time and patience. This period has been really critical for Shea because he's been consistently with the first team.
"So on a day-to-day basis, Shea will train with the first team, basically follow their programme and then obviously be topped up with Under-21 games when he needs to be playing.
"In this little period, he's had one or two little niggles that have disrupted his rhythm a little, but this has been the biggest block that he's had with the first team. Touch wood, uninterrupted, and training at a good level.
"The recent little bits of injury that he's had have not been ideal, but he's definitely been in a good place overall. He's definitely someone that the club is really excited about.
"I probably sound like a broken record, but he's just managing that sensitive transition between Under-21s into senior football, although for the moment, the first team have him day-to-day."
United's official website needs to be updated. Chido Obi is down as a first-team player when the decision was made to keep him in the academy this season. Ethan Wheatley is included, but has spent the season on loan. Lacey is training with the first team every day but is not listed as a first-team player.
Lacey's potential will only be limited by injury concerns. United have exercised patience with the youngster, and it was paying off this season as he was delivering consistently strong performances.
The 18-year-old is a keen boxer and an impressive snooker player, but that can only fill in so much time during layoffs. Lacey is desperate to show the world what he's capable of doing with a ball at his feet.
United will stay in Europe for pre-season this summer, and the tour is the perfect chance for Lacey to stake a claim while several senior players are representing their nations at the World Cup.
Lacey, who supports United despite having a Liverpool season ticket as a child, has represented England at every age level. U21 England manager Lee Carsley has said Lacey is a player who England "rate highly".
In October, Thomas Tuchel drafted Lacey into England senior training to supplement the session. Lacey was named in England's Under-20 squad but trained with the senior team at St. George's Park.
"Ah, I'd have to try and sweet-talk Michael," smiled Lawrence when asked if Lacey would be available to play in next week's U21 game against Real Madrid in the Premier League International Cup quarter-final.
Lacey is with the first team on a day-to-day basis, but there are just seven games remaining in the Premier League, meaning he could drop down to the U21s for the sake of competitive minutes.
"As a coach, you want to have Shea available for as many games as possible. But at the same time, what he's doing with the first team at the moment is really, really good and beneficial for him," said Lawrence.
"I think more importantly for next week, we'll just be looking ahead to what the first-team involvement is and then look at which players will be available in the games.
"But again, that's sort of like naturally done with Travis and the staff as well. But Michael has been really, really supportive, and he understands in terms of the marquee games for the academy and the ones that he and the club feel are really, really good to be involved in.
"They would obviously support us, but obviously not at the expense of what the first team are doing or their programme. Michael spoke to me last week. The message coming from him is obviously really good."
Lacey is hungry to send his own message. It may not be much longer until the wider world knows him.
