Ole Gunnar Solskjaer intends to ensure that there is “always a path” for those at Manchester United who prove themselves worthy of taking a step up from the academy ranks and into the senior side.
Home-grown talent has served the Red Devils well down the years, with an illustrious history littered with tales of promising youngsters becoming established stars,
From the ‘Busby Babes’ to the ‘Class of ‘92’, those at Old Trafford have prided themselves on the success of their youth production line.
The likes of Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay have stepped off that in recent times, while Mason Greenwood and Brandon Williams are two highly-regarded teenage talents.
Solskjaer, who worked within the academy ranks after ending a memorable playing career, has embraced a philosophy which has served United well in the past and is delighted to see faith being rewarded.
He will continue to offer opportunities to those deemed capable of making a mark, with age no barrier at the Theatre of Dreams.
The United boss told the club’s official website ahead of a Europa League outing against AZ Alkmaar which is expected to feature a number of academy graduates: “There is always a path at Man United, if you’re good enough you’ll get your chances.
“If you train hard enough and you do well in your [youth] teams you’ll get a chance.
“There will be loads of boys who have been playing with Mason and Brandon over the years and they’ll be looking at them thinking ‘well if they can do it, why can’t I?’
“You just have to keep going and that’s what we want. We want to show the youngsters that there is a way to get through [to the first team] but you’ve got to earn it.”
Continental competition is presenting United with a useful stage on which to experiment this season, with Solskjaer’s side have secured progress to the last 32 with room to spare.
That has allowed for the pack to be shuffled, but there remains a desire on the part of an ambitious club to maintain standards and a winning mindset at all times.
Solskjaer added headed into a run of games which will see his side figure in Europa League, Premier League and Carabao Cup fixtures: “They’re all competitions we still want to improve in of course.
“We have the quarter-final [against Colchester in the League Cup] next week which is a big game, we have this game on Thursday and the league is something we have to keep on going in.
“It’s great being back home at Old Trafford. We had four away games on the bounce in October and November, now we have three home games so we’ll make sure we enjoy them.”