ONE issue that Manchester City have found is getting players to make that jump from the youth level to a first-team appearance.
With the emergence of Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford, United have continued a run that has seen an academy graduate appear in every matchday squad since 1937.
City can only dream of such a record, but with the facilities that they have, it must feel like only a matter of time before their own run begins.
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In the FA Youth Cup, the blue side of Manchester has been beaten in the final twice by Chelsea. And it’s the London club that are leading the way in terms of youth development, winning four out of the last five finals.
However, the way modern football has gone, there seems very little chance that in seven years time, the players from those finals will go on to lift the UEFA Champions League like the Class of ’92.
This season, United were eliminated from the third round of the cup, beaten 2-1 by Southampton, in front of nearly 2,000 fans. No other club comes near that level of interest, so it’s now up to United to put together a team that can match the interest.
Since the turn of the year, the Reds have brought in a number of young players on trials as they try to build up a talented squad. Here we look at the youngsters who could one day be revered as the Class of 2017.
Matthew Knox
Livingston’s Matthew Knox arrived in December for his third trial week at the club.
He became the Scottish club’s youngest-ever player when he made his first-team debut in 2015.
"I sat directly across from Michael Carrick during one lunchtime," he told the Daily Record.
“It’s surreal to be sitting listening to banter between the likes of Paul Pogba and Wayne Rooney and joining all of these superstars queuing up for lunch, it was incredible."
The 17-year-old forward has made a handful of appearances for Livingston and is an under-17 Scottish international.
Alex Timossi
After a spell with Bayern Munich, it’s clear 16-year-old Alex Timossi is a highly-rated forward.
At the start of February he made his debut for Helsingborg in their 3-0 Svenska Cupen defeat to Brommapojkarna, with coach Per-Ola Ljung confirming the youngster flew to Carrington the next week.
"It is of course great that you can go to the team that you have dreamed about since you were little,” he told Swedish paper Expressen.
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"I may not be as nervous as last time [at Bayern]. Now I have a little known of how it is to be in a big club again. Then one is a little easier.
"I'll do as well as I can, then we will see."
Back in Sweden, he came off the bench for 16 minutes in their 1-0 defeat to Djugardens, it will be interesting to see if he has done enough to make a long-term move to Old Trafford.
Martin Murcko
Slovakian Under-17 international Martin Murcko was quick to pose on Instagram holding the EFL Cup during his visit to the Carrington training ground.
The midfielder has impressed youth coach Nicky Butt, especially his hat-trick against Northern Ireland, attracting attention from several top clubs with his performances for second-tier side Partizan Bardejov.
Murcko is just one of a number of players that new Eastern European scout, Radoslaw Kucharski, has picked out since he joined the club from Legia Warsaw.
It’s believed that the midfielder also had a week’s trial at Manchester City, but no deal has been struck yet.
Pierpaolo D’Errico
Another player to join United on a trial is 16-year-old Italian striker, Pierapolo D’Errico.
After posing for a selfie with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the move was announced to the world.
The teenager has arrived in Manchester after his glowing performances for the Heffort Soccer Dream academy in Italy, the teenager is the top-scorer in the Allievi Regional division and has been accompanied to England by his club’s president, Pasquale Bruno.
"Pierpaolo is a natural born striker, we’re proud to have brought him here,” he told Italian journalist, Gianluca Di Marzio. “What an emotion for us to see him next to Ibrahimovic.”
Levent Gundogan
One player that United have signed up for the future is Welsh wonderkid, Levent Gundogan.
The Under-14s star was given a six-week trial at first, but impressed the club so much they have signed him up on a full-time contract.
He first caught the eye when he scored four times in a game against the club at Carrington. That led to the trial and his performances continued to turn heads.
“He’s a very gifted player who is comfortable up front or in attacking midfield," Nomads director of football Jay Catton told the Chester Chronicle.
“Levent’s attitude and commitment to training and the club have been first-class and we wish him all the best during his time at Manchester United.”
It’s obvious that they are making a conscious effort to find and attract the best talent from around Europe.
Finding a new ‘Class of ’92’ has to start somewhere, there isn’t going to be an overnight solution but United are making positive steps in order to recreate that special team from 25 years ago.
Class of 2020 anyone?
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