Manchester United’s experiment with young academy talents paying dividends | OneFootball

Manchester United’s academy graduates have been one of the saving graces in what has been a disappointing campaign thus far.

Erik ten Hag has turned to youth to salvage a disastrous season and Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho have not let the Dutchman down.

Both are bonafide first-team stars and the first names on the teamsheet while Dan Gore, Omari Forson and Willy Kambwala have all made their first-team debuts this season.

Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay continue to fly the academy flag brightly years since their debut with the conveyor belt of talent keeping on churning behind the scenes.

Academy talents

Confidence is growing that the next crop of superstars are also set to come from in-house with The Daily Mail claiming United’s experiment with promoting younger players into higher age groups is reaping dividends.

Mainoo was not the only academy graduate to shine on the international stage in the past week with 17-year-old James Scanlon making his senior debut for Gibraltar against Lithuania.

He became the first United player to ever play for Gibraltar. To add to this, 17-year-old highly-rated Gabriele Biancheri scored the winner for Wales Under-19s against Belgium.

Lest we forget, Bendito Mantato’s progress is also generating a lot of interest with the 16-year-old already called up for first-team training despite his tender years.

Next generation

“Speaking of the academy, there was more than just smiles for Kobbie Mainoo and his international debut this week.

“Staff at the club were left bursting with pride to see 17-year-old James Scanlon win his senior debut for Gibraltar against Lithuania – the first United player to represent the nation – while Gabriele Biancheri, 17, scored the winner for Wales Under-19s against Belgium.”

“United’s academy lead Nick Cox is eager to push young players up into higher age groups in a bid to test them in more uncomfortable environments, and that is continuing to reap awards with the rapid development of teenagers like Scanlon, Biancheri and Bendito Mandato.”

Academy graduates are constantly called up for training and every game week, multiple academy talents like Toby Collyer and Habeeb Ogunneye are spotted in the matchday squad.

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