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3 Manchester United Youngsters Who Could Have A Breakthrough Season Next Year

Manchester United
Wayne Rooney (left) and Josh Harrop (right)

Three Manchester United Youngsters Who Could Have A Breakthrough Next Season

Manchester United, over the years, have been known for promoting talents from their academy. In the past, the Class of ’92 – Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, the Neville brothers and more recently the likes of Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford – there have been some world-class players who have come through the ranks at the Manchester United Academy.

With Jose Mourinho at the helm, there was a concern that the young prospects from the junior teams may not be given a chance to shine on the big stages, but the manager has shown signs of relying on the youth team products, having given Axel Tuanzebe a run in the final few games of the season.

With that in view, here we take a look at three United youth players who could have a breakthrough next season:

Andreas Pereira

The 21-year old has been on the fringes of the first team for two seasons now but hasn’t been able to carve out a place for himself. As a result, he was sent out on loan to Spanish club Granada this season.

The Brazilian youth international is a tremendous talent and it showed during his loan spell with Granada. Pereira finished the season with 5 goals and 3 assists from 35 La Liga appearances and was one of the club’s brightest performers in a season where they finished at the bottom of the table. Versatile enough to play on the wings or through the middle and even as a central midfielder, Pereira is meant for bigger things and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him make a name for himself with United senior team next season.

Axel Tuanzebe

The 19-year old reserve team captain got a few opportunities this season to show what he is made of and he did not disappoint. In his debut game against Arsenal, Tuanzebe managed to keep the threat of Alexis Sanchez under wraps. And he was impressive in the final two games of the season as well, except for the game against Tottenham Hotspur.

Primarily a centre-half, the DR Congo national played as a right-back and in a defensive midfield role for the senior team, and looked right at home. Mourinho has had his eyes on Tuanzebe since the start of the 2016/17 campaign. Having got a taste of first team football towards the business end of the season, the youngster may well be the next star on the scenes for the Red Devils next season.

Josh Harrop

What a way to announce yourself on the big stages! The 21-year old made his debut for the senior team in the final league game of the season, against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford and scored a stunning goal to give United the lead.

Harrop has been excelling for Nicky Butt’s team and managed to score 8 goals and 2 assists from 21 games in the Premier League2. An attacking midfielder, comfortable out on the wings as well, Harrop has shown pace and neat skills on the ball and his composure in front of goal was evident against Palace. He has all the potential to be the next big thing from the academy.