Manchester United recalled goalkeeper Elyh Harrison from his loan with Chester FC so he can spend the remainder of the season training with the first-team and playing for the academy.

Harrison joined Chester on a season-long loan in August but his move was ended this week because United decided to recall him from his stint in the National League North.

United have a strong relationship with Chester, who compete in the sixth division of English football, and Harrison dropped down to that level to gain valuable senior experience.

The move was considered a resounding success and Harrison has been recalled to spend the remainder of the season at Carrington, where he will be challenged at a higher level by spending time training with the first-team and playing for the Under-21s in the Premier League 2.

The exciting Harrison made 18 league starts for Chester and conceded just 16 goals in that period, impressively keeping seven clean sheets and earning huge praise from their manager.

“Elyh has been superb for us, and we are really thankful for all his efforts over this first half of the season,” said Chester boss Calum McIntyre when his recall was confirmed.

“We have been blessed in recent years with some really talented goalkeepers and it’s worth remembering that Elyh is just 18 years old, becoming the youngest goalkeeper to represent the football club at this level. He has shown his immense ability and has a hugely bright future in the game ahead of him. We can be really proud that we were his first taste of senior football.

“We would like to place on record our thanks to those in the academy at Manchester United for placing their trust in us to take Elyh over the last five months.”

Harrison was named Reserve Player of the Year at the end of last season, an award which has also been won by the likes of Darren Fletcher, Adnan Januzaj, Alvaro Fernandez and Dan Gore.

He became the second goalkeeper to win the award since its 1990 introduction and was the youngest recipient since Januzaj, who eventually broke into the first-team, in 2013.

There are high hopes for Harrison in the academy and United believe they have a goalkeeper who has the potential to break into the first-team, which will eventually be his target.

Harrison signed his first professional contract with United in March 2023 a year after joining the club from Stevenage Town on a scholarship deal.