As the Women’s Super League continues to grow, academy players risk being left behind

Megan Feringa Thu, 12 March 2026 at 7:16 am UTC·15 min read Layla Drury twirls around, taking in the wreckage of her first-team debut for Manchester United in the FA Cup fourth-round match against Burnley. It is January, and the Burnley goalkeeper is splayed facedown on the grass, the fans are screaming, the scoreline reads 5-0 to United. At 16 years old and 220 days, Drury is now United Women’s youngest-ever debutante and goalscorer. “She was ready,” head coach Marc Skinner said of the United academy product. Skinner used the same phrase one month later when 17-year-old academy graduate Jess Anderson made her debut in United’s 2-1 second leg Champions League quarter-final playoff victory...