My Zoran Tosic

Manchester United may have endured a disappointing campaign for large parts of the season but the recent upturn of form bodes well for the future. The players have been rejuvenated since the arrival of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer in October.

The Norwegian has been able to return the club to its principles of quick transition attacks which has brought some of the fear factors back to the club. one major area that Solksjaer has excelled is in turning to the club’s academy products.

The recent victory away at PSG saw the club decimated by injuries but Solksjaer did not complain about such ill fortune but took six academy players to the game in Paris. It was even a huge surprise when he brought on Mason Greenwood with a few minutes to go as he tried to win the game.

This was a throwback to the days of Sir Alex Ferguson who also turned to youth during tough situations. Remember Federico Macheda against Aston Villa during their title season about a decade ago. This process also has its risk as not all youth players end up making the cut for the senior team.

Good examples are Zoran Tosic and Gabriel Obertan who despite their talent never looked like developing into the type of player that could thrive at Old Trafford. However, the current set of players look more resilient and can follow the recent examples of youth players that succeeded in the first team.

Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard are two examples of academy players that were able to force their way into the first team reckoning. Lingard case was after several loan stints away from the club while Rashford was straight from the u18 squad.

One thing is certain that under Solksjaer youth players would always be given the opportunity to showcase their talent with the first team.