Jose Mourinho might have a reputation for not trusting young players, but Jamie Carragher thinks Manchester United’s new generation will have no trouble getting games under the new manager.
The Portuguese coach was officially confirmed as United’s new manager on Friday morning, and many people turned their attention to the future of the teenagers who broke into the first team under Louis van Gaal.
A number of Chelsea youth products failed to make an impact at Stamford Bridge under Mourinho, leading to speculation that the likes of Marcus Rashford and Tim Fosu-Mensah could be loaned out rather than continuing to get game-time under the new boss.
But Carragher, writing in his column for the Daily Mail, expressed his confidence that if youngsters are good enough they will have no trouble playing under Mourinho.
‘As for not bringing young players through, if they are top class, he plays them,’ Carragher writes.
‘He played 19-year-old Carlos Alberto in the Champions League final at Porto, he gave a chance to Raphael Varane at Real Madrid and picked Davide Santon at Inter when he was a teenager. So Marcus Rashford will be fine if he carries on as he is.’
Van Gaal, who was relieved of his duties on Monday, gave first-team debuts to several members of the United academy.
In addition to Rashford and Fosu-Mensah, the Dutch coach handed bows to Guillermo Varela, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, FA Cup final goalscorer Jesse Lingard, and many more.
While not every bright prospect will be used to the same degree by Mourinho, we should not rule out the possibility of the former Chelsea boss continuing to uphold United’s proud tradition of bringing through young talent.
