4000 matches: Man Utd’s incredible academy run which shows no sign of stopping

It is a run which stretches back to October 1937, where home-grown duo Tom Manley and Jackie Walsall featured in a 1-0 defeat to Fulham.

The tradition of naming at least one academy player in the matchday squad has been maintained ever since.

Duncan Edwards, Bobby Charlton, George Best and Mark Hughes are among the United legends to have kept this run going.

Then of course there is the Class of ’92, with Gary and Phil Neville, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes all playing a major role in United’s era of dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Fast forward to 2019, and United boast Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Scott McTominay, Brandon Williams, Jesse Lingard, Andreas Pereira, Tahith Chong, Angel Gomes, Axel Tuanzebe, Mason Greenwood and Tim Fosu-Mensah as academy graduates currently in the first-team squad.

“The coaches are very good and they’re almost doing, maybe, 12 years of developing an individual,” Rashford told Inside United.

“And in those 12 years they can mould you into what they know a Man United player is. If you just fall short of being a Man United player, there’s a lot of examples of playing in the Premier League, or in the Championship, or abroad.

“When you’re a kid you dream of playing professional football. That’s the main aim for a lot of people, preferably at United – if not somewhere else, but preferably at United. That’s why the coaching staff are very important. And I just can’t see it ever slowing down, us breeding players.”

Describing the academy in three words, Rashford added: “I think ‘growth’, ‘discipline’ and ‘future’. Those are the three words that spring to mind when I think of Man United’s Academy.

“They’re always growing us, there’s always more and more players and they’re becoming better and better. That’s why growth was in there.

“The other two are just what I’ve known from being in the Academy and they’re the two things – being disciplined and focusing on your future – other than your talent that will get you into the first team.”

Current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also spoke of his pride at the 82-year run.

"It's something we're proud of and it's in our DNA," he said. "This club is built on having your own local lads and academy players coming through and we pride ourselves on that.

"The academy players know what it means and they're great people. They're good players as well and they know what it takes to be a Manchester United player."