Manchester United Under-21 coach Adam Lawrence says the club are excited about teenager Shea Lacey’s progress and he is now virtually a full-time member of the first-team squad.

After four occasions as an unused substitute, England Under-20 forward Lacey was given his senior bow by Ruben Amorim in the 2-1 loss at Aston Villa in December.

The 18-year-old also played in both matches during Darren Fletcher’s short stint as interim boss, catching the eye with a late cameo at Burnley before being sent off in the FA Cup defeat by Brighton – when his reaction to conceding a free-kick led to a second caution and a one-match ban.

Lacey has been on the first-team bench just once since Michael Carrick took over in January but, after six goals in three under-21 games and recovering from a calf issue, he looks set to be in Lawrence’s team for the Premier League International Cup quarter-final with Real Madrid at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

United’s coaching staff believe Lacey’s red card – which he publicly apologised for – has played a valuable role in in his development.

“Shea is quite a unique case,” Lawrence said.

“He’s always had an elite technical level. He can do things with the ball which are, without getting too carried away, genuinely first-team level.

“But he’s been a later developer physically, so players like that need more time and patience.

“Day-to-day Shea will train with the first team and basically follow their programme, and then be topped up with under-21 games when he needs to be playing.”