‘Youth’, ‘courage’ and ‘success’ is plastered on the walls at Old Trafford and the club is staying true to those three pillars by nurturing some of the world’s most exciting young talent.
Putting faith in academy products has always been a proud tradition at Manchester United, and that has certainly not changed in recent years.
The Red Devils celebrated their 250th academy graduate representing the first team last season after Ethan Wheatley came off the bench to face Sheffield United in April.
He joins an impressive list of graduates who have already cemented spots in the first team, including Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
There has also been a notable change in strategy under Ineos to recruit young, promising stars, with summer deals struck for 18-year-old duo Leny Yoro and Sekou Kone, while 16-year-old Chido-Obi Martin is also expected to join.
Manchester United duo named in top 100 youngsters
Erik ten Hag has a young but incredibly promising squad at his fingertips, and this summer’s transfer window has only added to that with Noussair Mazraoui the oldest of United’s five signings at 26 years old.
CIES Football Observatory have published their latest report on the top 100 youngsters in world football, and not only do United have two names on the list, but both are in the top 15.
They ranked players based on their experience level relative to age and position and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal perhaps unsurprisingly came out on top after his superb summer at Euro 2024.
United’s Mainoo placed fifth, making him the highest-ranked Premier League youngster ahead of the likes of Archie Gray and Lewis Miley.
After impressing with Lille in Ligue 1 last season, Yoro ranked 13th on the list. The 100 players named in the list were all under the age of 20.
Manchester United have world-class youngsters
The photo of Mainoo, Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund from last season has quickly become iconic and the United trio certainly have a bright future ahead of them.
Hopefully Yoro can join the young trio as they write their names into the history books at Old Trafford when he returns from his metatarsal injury suffered in pre-season.
Let’s also not forget 22-year-old Amad Diallo who has rewarded Ten Hag’s faith in him so far this season.
READ MORE: Alejandro Garnacho breakthrough not what it seems, he has another step to take
There is a nice blend of youth and experience in United’s squad this season, with GiveMeSport calculating that the average age of the team is 25.9 which ranks exactly 10th in the Premier League.
It’s now down to Ten Hag to get the best out of his young squad, but the poor start to the season has shown that patience will be required.
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