Homegrown: 17-year-old Danny Welbeck (r) has
been touted as a future star forward at United
At Manchester United, however, the development of talent
has always been a priority ever since Sir Matt Busby introduced the
concept with the 'Busby Babes' in the 1950s.
"The real story started after Munich when Sir Matt rebuilt the
club and led them to the European Cup ten years later" says Sir
Alex Ferguson. "People were captivated by the courage of United and
its manager, as well as the number of young players that he brought
through into the team; that's never left us.
"Bringing young players through to the first team has given me
the most satisfaction and it's great to see the likes of John
O'Shea, Darren Fletcher, Kieran Richardson and Wes Brown who have
all since come through the system as well.
"We've always driven forward at this club no matter what success
we've enjoyed. This club has proved in the past that any young kid
coming through the ranks will get an opportunity."
So who are the latest players to follow in the footsteps of Ryan
Giggs, Paul Scholes and David Beckham?
1 Danny Welbeck
Despite Sir Alex Ferguson's announcement in January that
Manchester-born Welbeck would feature in his first-team plans, it
was not until September, against Middlesbrough in the League Cup,
that the 17-year-old made his competitive debut. Having overcome a
recent knee injury, Welbeck scored his first goal against Stoke at
the weekend.
Welbeck signed his first trainee contract in 2007, starting the
2007–08 season in the Under-18 side. He scored nine goals in 14
starts for the academy in 2007/08, before being promoted to the
reserve team where he scored seven goals in 11 starts.
A central figure in the Under-19 England squad, Welbeck's pace
and strength has led to Ferguson to compare him with former Arsenal
forward Nwankwo Kanu.
"He's no doubt a Manchester United player, but he's only young,"
Ferguson has said of Welbeck. "He needs time, but he's got a lot of
marvellous things about him. He's a local boy, which is nice
too."
2. Frazier Campbell
21-year-old striker Campbell is currently on at Tottenham, a
makeweight in the deal which saw Dimitar Berbatov sign for United
in the summer. Although he was not given many opportunities to
shine at White Hart Lane under Juande Ramos, Campbell has made the
most of his time on the pitch since Harry Redknapp's arrival,
especially against Liverpool in the League Cup last week, where he
scored two goals. He scored his first Premier League finish at the
weekend, a consolation goal in Spurs' 2-1 defeat to Fulham.
Campbell signed for the Manchester United Academy in 2004, and
made an immediate impact, scoring 14 goals in 22 starts for the
Under-18s. He was sent on loan to Royal Antwerp in 2006, and then
Hull City in 2007. Hull Chairman Paul Duffen described Campbell as
"too good for the Championship", and bid a club record fee of £7m
for the striker on their promotion to the Premier League this
season. United were unwilling to permanently release their player,
however.
3. Rafael Silva
One half of the "Brazilian Nevilles", Rafael is a Brazilian
youth international right-back who made his first start for
Manchester United against Peterborough in Barry Fry's testimonial
in August. Sir Alex Ferguson described the 18-year-old's
performance as "a sensation", even though he had not played for
over a year.
Having signed from Fluminense, Rafael had been prevented from
playing competitively in England until he had turned 18 and secured
a Portuguese passport.
Rafael began his career as a striker, but was converted to
wingback at Fluminense. Seen as Gary Neville's long-term
replacement, Rafael came on for the 33-year-old against Arsenal,
and scored his first goal at the club.
4. Fabio Silva
Rafael's brother Fabio is expected to make as big an impact on
the Manchester United first team as his twin brother, although the
left-back's progress has so far been hamstrung by a shoulder
operation. "I have absolutely no doubt at all that he will do the
same for us as Rafael," said Sir Alex Ferguson recently.
"They remind me of two little whippets," added Les Kershaw,
United's former academy manager who can be credited with spotting
the Da Silvas playing for Fluminense at the 2005 Nike Premier Cup
in Tokyo.
"These two stood out straight away. What impressed me most was
the way that, when they got knocked down, they just got straight
back up again and got on with it. You didn't have to be a special
scout to notice them. I rang the manager and said, 'There are twins
here who are just unbelievable.'"
5. Jonny Evans
Evans, a 20-year-old Northern Irish central defender, was
spotted by United scouts whilst playing for Greenisland FC.
He was signed to United's Academy in 2006, from where, like
Campbell, he was sent on loan first to United's Belgian affiliate
club Royal Antwerp and then Sunderland before returning to United
in the summer, 2007.
Evans made his United first team debut in the 2007–08 League Cup
and has since made appearances in the Champions League.
