Manchester United star midfielder Scott McTominay has revealed who he regards as the top four best academy prospects at Old Trafford, according to a report in the Mirror.
The 23-year-old McTominay has become a regular feature in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team and has played 27 games for the Red Devils this season.
Now, the United midfielder has suggested that he feels it is his responsibility to guide the younger players at Old Trafford who are bidding to follow his footsteps to make it to the first team.
Speaking to United’s official website about the Red Devils’ academy products and fellow academy graduate Mason Greenwood, as cited in the Mirror, McTominay said:
“For the younger boys? There’s a lot,”
“You see Di’Shon[Bernard], Largie[Ramazani], Jimmy[Garner], you see Mason[Greenwood], obviously, coming in and Mason’s on his way to being established.”
“He’s not quite at that level of being a regular first-teamer, and that’s what Mason has to strive to become.”
“He’s one of the most talented players that I’ve seen for a long time – his left-foot, right-foot shooting is ridiculous.”
While talking about his responsibility in helping the younger players, McTominay said:
“For me, it’s my responsibility,”
“Marcus [Rashford], Jesse [Lingard], the more experienced ones like Juan [Mata], Nemanja, Granty [Lee Grant], for example – we’ve got to take a responsibility now to push these younger boys and get them up to a level where it’s justifiable that they’ve reached their potential.”
“For everyone at the football club, that’s the primary goal as well. It’s the same for myself: I’m getting pushed by the coaching staff every single day.”
“Obviously Harry Maguire, Nemanja, Paul – they’re such influential players that you have to learn from every day,”
Its certain that the academy products named by McTominay are looking to emulate him and Mason Greenwood in breaking through to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first team.
However, it’s apparent that United boss Solskjaer will turn to the transfer window to bolster his squad further this summer following the arrival of Bruno Fernandes.
Fernandes has made a huge impact at Old Trafford in a short space of time and whether Solskjaer turns to the club’s academy to field the club’s current crop of budding youngsters, remains to be seen.