The era of Jose Mourinho has arrived. Many are asking what does this mean for the rich history of youth development that is synonymous of Manchester United?
Last season was a rough one for Manchester United, finishing fifth in the Premier League and missing out on the Champions League for the 2nd time in 3 years. Blame for this was placed solely on the shoulders of former manager Louis Van Gaal for his lack of attacking and “boring” style of football.
But let us not forget that the season was plagued by an unusually high number of injuries which forced some youth players to be thrust into the first team and subject to all the scrutiny that comes with it. There were some bright flashes of the future with Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson showing some real potential at the back.
But of course the stand out young player has to be Marcus Rashford, who was thrown into a EURO cup game against Midtjylland when Anthony Martial’s pre match injury left literally no other option on the Manchester United bench. Rashford scored twice as the Red Devils overcame an embarrassing 2-1 first leg defeat to the minnows and an instant fan favorite was born.
Towards the end of the season we began to see signs of the future as Rashford, Martial and Jesse Lingard formed a strong frontline and seemed to play with a deep understanding of each other. This was underlined for many in the Manchester derby while Rashford was effectively ending Martin Demichelis’ career as a top flight player.
When tempers were beginning to flare up and some of the City defenders started throwing some meaty challenges at the Manchester United youngsters all 3 starlets were very quick to stand up for each other which was especially positive for fans to see their off field friendship carrying over to the field of play.
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Young Rashford’s performances earned him a call up to Roy Hodgson’s EURO 2016 England squad where he made 2 appearances as a substitute and held his own on the big stage despite England ill-fated campaign. Being selected for the EUROs may have save Rashford from Jose Mourinho’s famous “loan axe” but the question remains; With the arrival of Ibrahimovic and that ego will Rashford be used as anything more than a “super sub” type player and thus stunt the young lads development.
At his previous clubs “The Special One” has come under heavy criticism for his lack of youth development which has only served to further many peoples belief that he is a short-term manager.
Jose Mourinho has launched a defence of his youth policy as reported by the Telegraph: So as fans all we can do now is watch and hope that we do not see him loaned out mid-season to “gain first team experience.”