Looking at our younger players. Who are the gems?

[simplyared]

Looking at our younger players who have made enough appearances in the 1st team, to be able to have an opinion of, I thought it would be interesting to see who you think has the potential to reach the ultimate level in top class football.

If we are to be a club who want to be up there wanting to win the PL the CL and everything else that comes our way, that would mean having players bordering world class level.

Question is who do you think, out of our young players, can you see reaching that level?

Just for the record I believe we have 2:

Both Rashford and Martial can reach that level imo.

Other than that when looking at other players who fit the criteria ”young players under development” the likes of Dalot, Lindelöf, Fred and maybe Shaw (still only 23), come to mind. Out of those I can’t see any reaching that level. Maybe Dalot at a pinch.

Views on this!

 

[Red Devil Rising]

Djordjic?

 

[Jake]

I believe Rashford and Martial can become world class. Lindelof is becoming a good player too and could become better with age and size and experience. I think rashford especially has it in him to become one of the best.

I don’t think Shaw has it in him to become a world class player.

I think Greenwood will become one of the best. He is scarily good.

 

[Gopher Brown]

Alex Notman is still the new Jeremy Goss

 

[SteveW]

Looking at our younger players who have made enough appearances in the 1st team, to be able to have an opinion of, I thought it would be interesting to see who you think has the potential to reach the ultimate level in top class football.

If we are to be a club who want to be up there wanting to win the PL the CL and everything else that comes our way, that would mean having players bordering world class level.

Question is who do you think, out of our young players, can you see reaching that level?

Just for the record I believe we have 2:

Both Rashford and Martial can reach that level imo.

Other than that when looking at other players who fit the criteria ”young players under development” the likes of Dalot, Lindelöf, Fred and maybe Shaw (still only 23), come to mind. Out of those I can’t see any reaching that level. Maybe Dalot at a pinch.

Views on this!

Agreed. Seems almost depressing when put in those terms.

However I genuinely think Greenwood will be at the same level as Rashford and Martial both of which are going to be excellent That could be a world class front three for the best part of a decade if things work out. Add Pogba in behind them and we could have something very special.

 

[Copa Mundial]

Just my honest opinion (which I know won't go down well) but I don't think Rashford will get anywhere near World Class. Excellent yes, but not World Class.

I know he is only 21 but I just haven't seen enough from him yet to convince me he'll ever be more than a very good player.

 

[dutchred]

Gems
Laird
Garner
Greenwood

 

[khakstar18]

I think greenwood definitely has that potential based on what he is doing in the U18’s. I would like to say angel Gomes too but unsure about him as of yet.

Regardless of the potential talent in the youth setup, a club needs a strategy which allows these players to fulfil their potential and United currently don’t seem to have that. Hopefully that will change soon

 

[davidmichael]

Laird, Tuanzebe, Garner, Gribbin, Gomes, Chong and Greenwood are all ones that come to mind that aren’t yet in the first team then you can add Rashford, Martial and Dalot to that list from the first team.

When you factor in Pogba, Shaw and Lindelof are all also 25 or under you can see there’s a very strong young core of players at our club so it needs a manager who can nurture that core into fulfilling their potential.

 

[Valar Morghulis]

Greenwood and Tuanzebe are the only youth players that I think will ultimately make it here.

Martial, Rashford, Greenwood

That'd be a fantastic trio, add Sancho and it has the potential to be a fantastic set of options. If they develop as anticpated, it could be 2009-esque.

But we shall see, plenty of time for things to change, Gomes and Chong have the potential to succeed here too.

 

[Volumiza]

Martial - certainly has the talent but I just don't the drive to be a beast or the best or both. I still question his attitude.

Rashford - watched him come through the youth sides and always thought he was nailed on for the top. like Martial, he certainly has the talent, unlike Martial I can see he certainly has the drive. He's currently a top player no doubt but can he take that next step up? Let's just see what an extended run in the team will bring out and let's see where he is in 2 years time. Fingers crossed.

Greenwood - Looking good so far.

Shaw - we shouldn't really be talking about Shaw at this level now, he's been playing at the top level for a few years now, he should be displaying something more if he was a genuine top tier player. I've no doubt he has the talent but some payers never believe they've 'made it' and keep driving forward and pushing hard. I'm not convinced Shaw has that mentality. We saw an improvement at the start of the season, he lost body fat (something a top player wouldn't have had to do in the first place) and then got awarded a bumper contract so let's see if he can repay that. 50 / 50 I reckon and I just can't help seeing him at a mid table club in a few years dubbed as a 'once bright prospect'.

 

[meamth]

Just my honest opinion (which I know won't go down well) but I don't think Rashford will get anywhere near World Class. Excellent yes, but not World Class.

I know he is only 21 but I just haven't seen enough from him yet to convince me he'll ever be more than a very good player.

He added so much into his game since his break through season.

If he can add so much, means he can improve so much more. Scary potential.

Under the right coaching and guidance, Rashford will eventually be at least Rooney's level, but better longevity. Hopefully!

 

[Silas]

Looking at our younger players who have made enough appearances in the 1st team, to be able to have an opinion of, I thought it would be interesting to see who you think has the potential to reach the ultimate level in top class football.

If we are to be a club who want to be up there wanting to win the PL the CL and everything else that comes our way, that would mean having players bordering world class level.

Question is who do you think, out of our young players, can you see reaching that level?

Just for the record I believe we have 2:

Both Rashford and Martial can reach that level imo.

Other than that when looking at other players who fit the criteria ”young players under development” the likes of Dalot, Lindelöf, Fred and maybe Shaw (still only 23), come to mind. Out of those I can’t see any reaching that level. Maybe Dalot at a pinch.

Views on this!

How does Fred fit the young player criteria?

 

[LoveFootball]

Just my honest opinion (which I know won't go down well) but I don't think Rashford will get anywhere near World Class. Excellent yes, but not World Class.

I know he is only 21 but I just haven't seen enough from him yet to convince me he'll ever be more than a very good player.

I have the same feeling tbh. I think he'll hit the Guti's level at Madrid. But if we really want him to become productive, use him alongside 2 other great forwards (Martial + 1) and make them switch position like SAF did with Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo. We can unlock a great potential if we coach him properly.

 

[meamth]

I have the same feeling tbh. I think he'll hit the Guti's level at Madrid. But if we really want him to become productive, use him alongside 2 other great forwards (Martial + 1) and make them switch position like SAF did with Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo. We can unlock a great potential if we coach him properly.

Agreed, the trio of Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo was chaos in a good way. Sometimes Tevez on the flanks, Ronaldo in the middle, Rooney from the deep. Great stuff.

 

[LoveFootball]

Agreed, the trio of Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo was chaos in a good way. Sometimes Tevez on the flanks, Ronaldo in the middle, Rooney from the deep. Great stuff.

A genius stuff from SAF, defenders had no clue how to defend against them as everytime you were facing a different player with different skills and qualities. If we kept that trio together we'd have dominate football for more few years.

Our squad have great young talents and I think with a proper manager, Martial, Rashford, Shaw, Lindelof, Bailly, Pogba and some academy players can unlock world class potential. Let's 1st get rid of the old average players on massive wages (I mean the like of Fellini, Magic, Young, Lukaku, Sanchez should be shown the door next summer).

 

[Patrick08]

Agreed, the trio of Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo was chaos in a good way. Sometimes Tevez on the flanks, Ronaldo in the middle, Rooney from the deep. Great stuff.

If Memphis produced it here then we could have seen the same thing again.

 

[red thru&thru]

Why do we need so many players bordering WC level? Saf's teams only ever had one, maybe two, WC players at a time. But after CR7, he didn't one single WC player.

 

[meamth]

Why do we need so many players bordering WC level? Saf's teams only ever had one, maybe two, WC players at a time. But after CR7, he didn't one single WC player.

Because he usually produce his own world class talents. He nurtured Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs, Scholes, Becks, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra...list goes on.

Sir Alex usually make his own stars, or making them become world class.

 

[red thru&thru]

Because he usually produce his own world class talents. He nurtured Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs, Scholes, Becks, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra...list goes on.

Sir Alex usually make his own stars, or making them become world class.

That wasn't the OP question...it was how many could reach being border line WC players. I'm not quite sure what that actually means? Saf himself said he only had 4 WC players. So not too sure why we need more than one WC player in our team?!

 

[meamth]

That wasn't the OP question...it was how many could reach being border line WC players. I'm not quite sure what that actually means? Saf himself said he only had 4 WC players. So not too sure why we need more than one WC player in our team?!

What I meant is we certainly had more WC players in our greater seasons in the past, we made them into WC players without people realizing how good they were.

I think SAF standard was so high. That's all. Realistically we had more than 4 WC players.

 

[harms]

Just my honest opinion (which I know won't go down well) but I don't think Rashford will get anywhere near World Class. Excellent yes, but not World Class.

I know he is only 21 but I just haven't seen enough from him yet to convince me he'll ever be more than a very good player.

I would agree, but then I never expected Kane to become world class, so what do I know.

 

[red thru&thru]

What I meant is we certainly had more WC players in our greater seasons in the past, we made them into WC players without people realizing how good they were.

I think SAF standard was so high. That's all. Realistically we had more than 4 WC players.

I'm just going by the great man himself. I do believe WC is thrown around very easy. If Saf said he only had 4 WC players, then it's his standards of player I would compare any player with. We as fans can get very blinded by our own teams talent. We believe they are better than what they really are and we dismiss rivals players, making them out to be worse than they are.

But 100% agree, our history shows that we are better when we nurture our younger talent to reach their highest potential. From recent memory, I would say only CR7 went on to be even better than what he was at United.

 

[simplyared]

How does Fred fit the young player criteria?

Mainly because I can't believe we've coughed up 50 mill for a player who is so far away from the level he should be at . He's 25 so there should be potential for further development. That said I can't see it happening going on what I've seen so far.

 

[simplyared]

Djordjic?

What a strange choice. Connections with Sweden?

 

[soap]

Martial has all the ability in the world and I predict he will be one of the absolute best players in the league in a couple of years.

Rashford can be a very good player for us if he becomes more consistent, which there's no reason he can't given his age. I don't think he'll ever hit the heights of someone like Kane, Aguero etc though, I don't see evidence that he has the tools to become a complete forward - dropping deep, holding the ball up, incisive passing etc. I can envisage him becoming something like a better Jamie Vardy.

Greenwood looks amazing, rarely seen a player make football look so easy. He has the physical attributes whereby senior football shouldn't be too intimidating (Januzaj), yet clearly isn't one of those youth team players who relies on speed and power against players of his own age (Wilson?). Great chance for him given our lack of options at CF.

? Saf himself said he only had 4 WC players.

He also said Phil Jones would be our best player ever. He said some silly things as he got older. It requires a very esoteric definition to consider Giggs world class but not Schmeichel.

 

[bosnian_red]

Rashford and Martial will become top players and hopefully they stay here for their careers, and along with Pogba those 3 will be the face of the club long term if they all stay.

Dalot too soon to say, very young and doesn't have many games under his belt especially as a fullback. Long term for Shaw I think is just a squad player type. He's decent, but he does lack a bit of talent to really be top level. Pereira is decent but squad player at best at a club like United. McTominay not good enough, Fosu-Mensah not good enough, Tuanzebe I doubt will ever reach a top level either but maybe he'll have a role as a squad player. Joel Pereira also nothing more than backup goalkeeper, though maybe more due to De Gea being De Gea.

Out of the youth team, there's been plenty of hype for a handful of them. Greenwood, Angel Gomes, Chong and Garner are probably the most hyped out of the current crop I'd say? Of those, I don't really think Chong will have much of a career here, he's a good youngster but did always strike me as a bit of a pace merchant whenever I've seen him. Gomes has excellent talent though the size is of course an issue, but I do think he has the talent for sure to be at United. Greenwood has had a huge breakout and is looking excellent and will surely make his debut this year, and what his prospects will be like long term, but many seem to think he's one of the best to come out of the academy in a while. So out of all of them, long term I think we'll still have Gomes and Greenwood with roles and hopefully big roles if they fulfill their potential, still very early though.

 

[bosnian_red]

Mainly because I can't believe we've coughed up 50 mill for a player who is so far away from the level he should be at . He's 25 so there should be potential for further development. That said I can't see it happening going on what I've seen so far.

Fred has talent but with him I think it's been a clear case of not being used to the pace and physicality of the league yet. Question is if he'll ever get used to it, plenty of talented players just haven't worked out.

 

[VeevaVee]

Why do we need so many players bordering WC level? Saf's teams only ever had one, maybe two, WC players at a time. But after CR7, he didn't one single WC player.

Eh? SAF's teams had plenty. Nearly a whole team at one point.
VDS, Rio, Vidic, Evra, Giggs, Scholes, Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney. The rest of the spots filled with the likes of Neville, Heinze, Hargreaves, Saha, Park, Carrick, Nani etc.

He was hardly making do like some on here like to make out when we go after one big player.

Before anyone gets weird about what world class is, it's those first players mentioned there. That's the definition.

 

[red thru&thru]

Eh? SAF's teams had plenty. Nearly a whole team at one point.
VDS, Rio, Vidic, Evra, Giggs, Scholes, Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney. The rest of the spots filled with the likes of Neville, Heinze, Hargreaves, Saha, Park, Carrick, Nani etc.

He was hardly making do like some on here like to make out when we go after one big player.

Before anyone gets weird about what world class is, it's those first players mentioned there. That's the definition.

So your knowledge on players is more than that of Saf?

 

[VeevaVee]

So your knowledge on players is more than that of Saf?

What? Just because he made a daft comment about it?

We had the best defence in the world. One of the best the world has ever seen. Not world class though?

 

[red thru&thru]

What? Just because he made a daft comment about it?

We had the best defence in the world. One of the best the world has ever seen. Not world class though?

So Saf made some daft comment but you’re measure of a WC player we should all abide by? Ok Sir VeevaVee!

 

[VeevaVee]

So Saf made some daft comment but you’re measure of a WC player we should all abide by? Ok Sir VeevaVee!

Nah you're right, Vidic and Rio weren't world class.

Try forming an opinion without having it spoon fed

 

[el3mel]

Tuanzebe, Gomes and Greenwood only.

 

[red thru&thru]

Nah you're right, Vidic and Rio weren't world class.

Try forming an opinion without having it spoon fed

So can you define to me what a WC player is? Wht should meet the criteria? This will be very interesting...

 

[VeevaVee]

So can you define to me what a WC player is? Wht should meet the criteria? This will be very interesting...

No

 

[Greck]

Lingard

Had the youngster tag since 2008. Somehow a lot of our fans don't know his age

 

[red thru&thru]

No

So again, we only had 4 WC players under Saf! What a pointless conversation that was!

 

[AltiUn]

Purely my own opinion but I think the three current best players at the academy are Gomes, Greenwood and Laird. Out of those three Greenwood looks the best of the bunch, I think he and Laird have the best chance of making it from the current academy as starters. Gomes is tricky because he's insanely talented but pretty small, either way if he doesn't make it in the PL I think he's tailor made for Spanish football. Tuanzebe's having a decent season with Villa, whether he can make the step up to United is a different story, I think he's destined for PL football in the future.

We have a lot of pretty interesting talents in the academy, after the three I've mentioned Garner, O'Connor, Chong and Traore could all end up having decent careers. Garner in particular has a lot of very desirable traits, although CMs are the trickiest position to call. Due to how good our academy is at the moment I reckon we'll see a lot coming through and filling squad roles for a few seasons before moving on with one or two surprises lasting much longer in the first team.

 

[In Rainbows]

Tuanzebe, Gomes and Greenwood only.

These are the 3 I'm most hopeful of. We'll see what happens to Gomes. Butt has already started to develop him as a Scholes type midfielder, but he plays as an attacker outside of Butt.