Man United legend’s twin sons sign first professional contracts with the club as they bid to follow in their father’s footsteps

A former Manchester United star has seen his two sons follow in his footsteps by signing their first professional contracts at Old Trafford.

Twins Jack and Tyler Fletcher, son of former Scotland midfielder and international Darren, will continue their development with the Red Devils after signing their first professional deals when they turned 17.

The pair had originally honed their skills on the pitch at rivals Man City, before switching academy last summer to join their father at Carrington, in a deal worth £1.25million.

Darren, 40, has a first-team role, working closely with Erik ten Hag as technical director, and it appears at least one of his sons has been appointed to follow his path to the senior team.

Midfielder Jack has reportedly already impressed the Dutch coach and has been quickly moved into first-team training. Meanwhile, Tyler, who is a central midfielder, has done well with the youth team.

The pair had previously played together for Scotland at youth level, although Jack (left) has now switched allegiances to represent England.

Both have been academy stars this season, with United top of the Under-18 Premier League North table, 10 points ahead of rivals City.

The highly regarded duo also appeared in an adidas promotion alongside Scottish international Scott McTominay for the Predator launch in January.

They both signed their professional contracts on the same day and posed together for the cameras in the same training equipment.

While the pair have followed each other throughout their domestic careers, the duo appear to be on different paths on the international front.

Tyler has been selected at Under 17 level by Scotland, the same country his father represented 80 times, while Jack accepted call-ups for England at youth level, the country of his birth. They had previously been Scotland teammates.

The pair faced each other in an under-16 international match in February last year, with Jack providing an assist as England won 3-0.

Club legend Fletcher, who played more than 300 games for United and won 10 major trophies with the club, was understood to have been one of the driving forces behind getting the pair to swap the Etihad for Old Trafford last summer.

He was not the first United icon to send his own sons to City, Wayne Rooney, Phil Neville and Robin van Persie did the same due to the superior academy in the blue half of Manchester.

Jack posted the images on his Instagram after putting pen to paper in professional terms.

Fletcher is now United’s manager and works closely with manager Erik ten Hag.

Fletcher, pictured with his sons in 2019 at the Old Firm Derby, had originally sent his sons to Man City’s academy.

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Fletcher was a key midfield asset for Sir Alex Ferguson at a time when Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes were part of United’s superstar squad. Fletcher finished his career with five English top-flight titles, an FA Cup, a Champions League and other major honours.

He eventually retired from football in 2019 after his career was cut short by ulcerative colitis and carved out a career off the field at United.

He was appointed technical director after retiring from the game and once explained that his role was to “take a holistic view of the players’ journey from our academy to our first team.”

However, according to the Telegraph, it is understood that his current job role is being reviewed by INEOS decision-makers, who are now considering moving the Scot to a new position with a changed job title.

The 40-year-old has worked closely with coach Erik ten Hag since the Dutchman joined the club two years ago.