Callum Guy may be used to battling in the grit of League Two every week, but the Carlisle United star isn’t taking a clash with Manchester United ’s under-21s lightly.
The two teams will meet at Brunton Park on Tuesday, as the Papa Johns EFL Trophy kicks off for another campaign. Guy, 25, made his professional debut in the competition five years ago, featuring for Derby County ’s under-21 side to kickstart his career. Now into his third full season with the Cumbrians after joining from Blackpool in January 2020, he’s gone on to establish himself as one of League Two’s most accomplished central midfielders.
But unlike in the 46 league games of a gruelling domestic campaign, Guy and his Carlisle teammates - who boosted their promising start to the season with a hard-fought 1-0 win against Gillingham on Saturday - won’t have to deal with the rigorous demands of fourth-tier football this time around. Instead, it’ll be a different kind of test, as the Red Devils’ highly-rated youngsters - some of whom played a part in United’s spectacular FA Youth Cup triumph back in May - make the trip up north, led by lead coach Mark Dempsey.
It’s a challenge Guy is relishing, too, as Blues No.8 told Mirror Football : “We know we’re gonna come up against some really good players no matter if they’re young and not had much taste of first-team football.
“A lot of big clubs invest a lot into their academies now, so we know that they’re spending money on players or they’re bringing in really good talents through the academies and you’ve seen that over the years from some of the players who end up in the first team, they're exceptional talents.
“You never know who the next player to make that step is gonna be, so whoever plays on Tuesday will be fighting for a United shirt or somewhere else, so we’re expecting a tough challenge.” Guy added: “The likes of United have total football academies, so it’ll be completely different to what we come up to on a Saturday at three o’clock.
“But we’ve gotta be ready no matter what because it’s important to make sure we put in a good performance and get the win because it’s a massive chance to get to Wembley. It’s the best opportunity being in the Papa Johns to have that shot of playing there for a trophy.”
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Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag will be hoping to see the likes of first-team hopefuls Alejandro Garnacho, Charlie Savage and Zidane Iqbal get plenty of games under their belt, but their run in the competition will be short-lived if Carlisle have anything to say about it. Guy’s side, managed by ex- England under-20 and World Cup -winning boss Paul Simpson, are firmly focussed on getting off to a winning start and making it out of Group G, which also includes Cumbrian rivals Barrow and League One outfit Fleetwood Town.
“We spoke in pre-season about what we wanted to achieve and one of those things was a good cup run, no matter what competition,” the former Derby starlet affirmed. “Unfortunately, we got knocked out of the Carabao Cup to Shrewsbury but we did put in a really good performance, so it shows we can compete with some top teams. I think this is our strongest opportunity to go on a really good cup run.”
Since the competition was controversially revamped in 2016, clubs and players have been made well aware of the criticisms surrounding the EFL ’s decision to invite under-21 team from the Premier League and Championship into the tournament.
Record-low attendances have soured the new format, with the introduction of a group stage and subsequent removal of the immediate knockout element also receiving flack from supporters around the country. Brunton Park is expected to be sparsely populated once again on Tuesday, 11 years after the Blues beat Brentford in the final - back when the competition was known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.
For Guy, though, the hotly-debated revamp allowed him to get a taste of senior football at the age of 20, and he hasn’t looked back since. “It was obviously very beneficial as a young lad coming through the youth ranks at Derby,” the Nottingham-born playmaker explained.
“I hadn’t played any first-team games before the competition, so when it was announced that they were bringing in under-21 teams, it was exciting to have that chance to play in front of some crowds and play games that mean something.
“I played against Port Vale and actually moved there not too long after on loan, so it shows that being a young lad playing in those games, you can get loan moves and things like that which progress your career. It can be tough to find a move just playing youth games behind closed doors where it doesn’t mean too much and not playing for three points.
“Playing in those [EFL Trophy] games, you’re really determined to do well because you’re playing against those who play men’s football week in, week out which you wanna do as a youngster. And getting your first taste of a loan move, you’re thrown into it straight away.
“I went to Port Vale who weren’t doing too well at the time and it was like being thrown in at the deep end to understand what men’s football is really like. You’ve seen players get big moves from it at such a young age like Luke Matheson at Rochdale, who was only 15 and he managed to get to Wolves.
“It shows how good this competition for young players and there’ve been plenty of times where players and have got loan moves, so I think it’s really important that the young lads from the academies realise how important these type of games are to help with your career.”
Now with 143 senior appearances under his belt, it’s no longer about gaining experience in the competition for Guy, but the prospect of walking out at Wembley next March.
