Manchester United, whisper it quietly, have a very promising group of young players at the club.
This season, Manchester United have included 22 academy graduates in matchday squads, but who are the top five most promising players?
The likes of Adnan Januzaj and Andreas Pereira are recognised as being among the most gifted and talented youngsters at the club. However, individuals such as Jesse Lingard, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Marcus Rashford have forced their way into the starting XI and featured more regularly than the aforementioned duo.
What’s particularly pleasing about the current crop of young players at United is the variety. From defenders to attackers, imports from around the world to homegrown stars, there is a great depth of talent there.
In a disappointing season for United, the emergence of so many youngsters has been a real highlight.
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Granted, Louis van Gaal’s decision to streamline his squad has been detrimental to United on the whole, but it has meant that academy players have been handed chances in the first team.
For some of them, it might just be that a handful of appearances is all their United careers amount to. There’s no shame in that, though. Many players who leave United at a young age go on to enjoy successful careers at other Premier League and Championship sides.
The point, however, is that United appear to have a number of players who could potentially feature for the senior team for years to come. So who are the five most promising in that regard?
Note: Lingard is already 23 and a member of the first-team squad, so he has been omitted from this list.
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