As Manchester United prepare to welcome back their players for pre-season training, there will be a group of youngsters itching to get their chance to impress.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been known to hand chances to younger players if they are good enough, overseeing the rise of Mason Greenwood from academy starlet to first-team regular in the space of 18 months.
The case involving Greenwood is more straightforward, however, as it has been known for a long time that the 19-year-old is a generational talent.
Other young Man United hopefuls will need to work hard to gain the Norwegian boss’ attention in pre-season and perhaps earn their chance for a cameo in friendlies.
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United are reportedly contemplating playing two friendlies in Scandinavia due to coronavirus restrictions, with the rest of their fixtures across pre-season taking place in the UK.
There will be several players on Solskjaer’s watchlist hoping to give the Red Devils boss some food for thought ahead of the new season.
Mirror Sport looks at four rising talents who could impress the Man United head coach before the start of the new season…
Shola Shoretire
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There is a lot of understandable buzz about this exciting teenager after making his full debut for the club against Newcastle in February.
Shoretire, who has spent seven years with the club’s academy after signing from Newcastle, is regarded as United’s next academy prospect to be promoted into the first team.
The young forward has already signed a professional deal after turning 17 earlier this year and won the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award for 2020-21 for a series of impressive displays.
One of his standout displays was when he netted a marvellous hat-trick in the 6-4 win over Blackburn, which led to him securing a spot in Solskjaer’s squad.
He has already done enough to warrant a place in the pre-season tour. But now he must use Greenwood’s example to take his chance when he is handed his next opportunity to integrate himself into the senior squad.
James Garner
Garner has been in this position before when he joined United’s senior squad for their pre-season tour of the United States as a 17-year-old, featuring against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
The next summer, he came on as a substitute in the 83rd minute of the first pre-season game against Perth Glory and scored with his first touch, impressing his coaches on the touchline.
Three years on and with two loan spells at Watford and Nottingham Forest under his belt, it could be time for the midfielder to mark his mark.
Garner is widely expected to join the first-team squad on their pre-season friendlies as Solskjaer runs the rule of his squad and, now 20, he could put himself in contention for the first team squad or the shop window with some decent displays.
Facundo Pellistri
United don’t tend to drop £9m on an 18-year-old too often — the last time they forked out such a fee was to capture a certain Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon.
The Uruguayan talent has been given the chance to adjust to life in England after sealing his move from Penarol, linking up with the development squad.
In January he moved on loan to LaLiga outfit Alaves and, while he did not score in his 12 appearances, he was given several cameos from the bench to try and make an impression.
A report from Calciomercato claims the Spanish club are keen to retain the budding forward’s services for the upcoming campaign.
It very much feels like Amad has stolen the spotlight following his £37m move from Atalanta. But Pellistri can show he deserves a spot with some bright displays with the first team should he get the call from Solskjaer.
Ethan Galbraith
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It’s a curious case that Galbraith has already made his senior international debut for Northern Ireland without ever making a senior league appearance for his club.
The midfielder received a call-up from former boss Michael O’Neill for the friendly win over Luxembourg in September 2019 and added a second cap in 2020.
That came just weeks after Galbraith was handed an outing against Astana alongside several academy players and look assured in possession on that evening in Kazakhstan.
The 20-year-old was also handed a three-year deal tying him to the Red Devils until 2023, showing there is belief in the promising central midfielder.
Galbraith may find his opportunities limited with Garner ahead of him in the pecking order.
But having been made captain of the Under-23 squad, there may be opportunities for him to showcase his ability to his manager in the coming weeks ahead of a possible loan move away from Old Trafford.
