First it is Dan Armer who struggles to contain his laughter. It doesn’t take long for the infectious smile to shift over a few feet onto team-mate Jim Thwaites.
Armer is the rising star that has been labelled a ‘mini Maguire’ while Thwaites, comfortably one of the best set piece takers in youth football anywhere in the country, has been dubbed ‘mini Beckham’.
‘Obviously, I’ve seen the comparisons to like… Harry Maguire,’ Armer, who like Maguire plays as a left centre back, says before laughter gets the better of him.
‘Well, it wouldn’t be bad to be like him, would it?’ Thwaites says of his David Beckham links.
‘I’ve seen obviously stuff on social media, but I just try and stay grounded about it and focus on my own performances before looking at all that sort of stuff. Not a bad comparison, though!’
Both are here to speak to reporters ahead of tonight’s Under-18 Premier League Cup final against Crystal Palace.
Jim Thwaites (left) and Dan Armer (right) gave their first media interview as United players
The two academy stars picked Bruno Fernandes as an extremely valuable first team mentor
Both are making plenty of noise behind the scenes at United too. Their performances have not gone unnoticed by Michael Carrick and his staff with Thwaites even making the first team bench for the very first time at Chelsea on Saturday.
‘I was over the moon, obviously, to hear that news [of the call-up],’ Thwaites, 18, explains.
‘I’m just trying to learn as much as possible from the pros because that’s where you want to be realistically, so just like grasp it all in. Take in all the knowledge from them and stuff like that, so it was good. I really enjoyed it.’
United staff are reluctant to over expose academy players to media duties as they look to let what are teenagers still developing many aspects of their lives.
But when this exercise is reviewed and reflected upon, the maturity with which both players showed during this candid sit-down will only further underline why both have been handed multiple opportunities to train with the first team.
Armer and Thwaites are among the standout performers for the Under-18s this season and have plenty of experience at Under-21 level, too, where the physicality intensifies even more before another giant leap awaits for first team.
Mentors are crucial to help bridge that gap. That is what Harry Amass pointed to following his breakthrough last season. It’s what Shea Lacey references to insiders. Tyler Fletcher, another off the conveyor belt in the past 12 months, has been a sponge around first-team players in his position such as Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo.
‘You can take bits from all of the first-team and even the staff as well,’ Armer says.
‘They will come up to you and just give you little bits of advice that you can focus on. So I think just getting all the knowledge from all the different players and staff is just really useful.’
For Thwaites, Lisandro Martinez in particular has become one of his greatest allies. ‘The Butcher’ has become ‘The Mentor’.
Thwaites has gained more experiences around Michael Carrick’s first time in recent weeks
The technical 18-year-old midfielder is making his case for involvement at a higher level
‘All of them are really good to be fair,’ Thwaites says of Michael Carrick’s first team group.
‘Obviously, the ones that stand out for me are Bruno [Fernandes] and Martinez is really good, too. They are the main two I would say, but as a whole they’re really good with the lads.’
As Manchester United captain, a responsibility that falls on the shoulders of Armer at Under-18 level, Fernandes takes on a lot of self-imposed responsibility to ease the transition of young players.
Academy sources explained how during last year’s end of season tour – a trip that landed Armer in some hot water with his mum after it kiboshed the family holiday – it was particularly noticeable how much effort Fernandes put into guiding, mentoring and getting to know the academy players, with so many forming part of Ruben Amorim’s travelling squad for that trip.
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‘He’ll take you to one side on the side of the pitch and have a word with you and make sure you’re alright,’ Thwaites reveals in regards to Fernandes’ approach.
‘Also, on the pitch, he will encourage you and let you know that the standard here is the standard you should be aspiring to get to; but also helping you to get to that level. Both on and off the pitch it really helps.
‘He would just like make a joke of you trying to help you and stuff like that and just like help you feel a bit more relaxed around the group,’ Armer, also 18, chimes in.
Thwaites was complimentary about the work of new academy director Stephen Torpey since his arrival from Brentford and the impact Carrick has indirectly made on Under-18 and Under-21 training sessions.
‘It’s really good to see he’s there because it makes everyone push a little bit more to try and impress,’ Armer says of Carrick, who has made an effort to attend as many Under-18 games as possible since taking charge. ‘It definitely helps when he comes and watches training.’
Armer has drawn comparisons to first team defender Harry Maguire which he has enjoyed
Darren Fletcher will lean on Armer and Thwaites as he eyes a first trophy as a manager
United’s Under-18s remain in contention for a domestic treble campaign as they are in the Under-18 Premier League Cup final tonight, followed by next month’s FA Youth Cup final, having beaten tonight’s opponents Crystal Palace at Old Trafford last Friday.
‘This club is built around trophies,’ Thwaites says, barely able to stifle a grin at the thought of getting his hands on silverware this week.
‘At the start of the season they are the things that you want to aim for and strive for. So when you get nights like this, that’s when it means everything. It’s about going to compete and winning trophies.’
‘We get it drilled into us from like a young age,’ Armer interjects.
‘We talk a lot about the club’s history during sessions when we’re younger and stuff like that, so I think everyone knows the occasion and it just adds even more to it, I think.’
Well, ‘mini-Maguire’ and ‘mini-Beckham’ will get their chance to write a bit of their own United history in south east London on Wednesday night as Darren Fletcher goes in search of his first ever trophy as a manager.
Time to pull all of Fernandes and Martinez’s tidbits of advice together to add another trophy to United’s cabinet.
