Erik ten Hag has been backed to replicate Sir Alex Ferguson's ethos of bringing through young talents at Manchester United and making them into superstars.
The Dutchman is well known for integrating youth into his teams, helping the likes of Donny van de Beek, Frenkie De Jong and Matthijs De Ligt become top European players at Ajax. He has been tasked with revamping the United squad this summer after a horrendous season.
He will inevitably look at splashing cash to bring in some valuable assets, with De Jong most recently being linked with a reunion as the club searches for midfielders. But ten Hag will also undoubtedly want to bring through several academy prospects, like Sir Alex did with the Class of ‘92.
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Former United defender Paul Parker has touted Alejandro Garnacho to be the first player that ten Hag will look to nuture into a world class talent. The Argentine was signed from Atletico Madrid’s youth set-up in 2020 and the 17-year-old has made a big impression ever since.
He was named as the club’s Under-18s player of the year just hours before scoring twice in the squad’s 3-1 FA Youth Cup win over Nottingham Forest earlier this month.
“There is an opportunity for him (Garnacho) because of the new manager coming in," Parker told indiabetting.co.in. "The manager will integrate him and other young players because that’s what he does.
"It’s an easy thing for him, that’s what he does and if he doesn’t do that, then Manchester United have got the wrong kind of manager. Garnacho will mostly get an opportunity to be training regularly and be filtered in.”
Parker likened ten Hag to Sir Alex, backing him to make Garnacho into a top player like Ferguson did with Eric Cantona and Ruud van Nistelrooy. He added: "United have always been that way under Sir Alex.
“That’s the way he was, he was always looking to bring young players in the dressing room and tell us all they are going to take your place.
“It’s Manchester United maybe taking a step back, in the sense of not going out and buying players commercially, actually trying to make them commercially viable, which is the way it was before.”
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