Cristiano Ronaldo given his backing to Manchester United’s academy stars ahead of next season.
New manager Erik Ten Hag has been praised for his willingness to work with young players, having helped develop Frenkie De Jong and Matthjis de Ligt into some of Europe’s leading players while at Ajax.
Those principles helped land him the job at Old Trafford, with United’s football director John Murtough hailing the 51-year-old as the candidate who was the “most closely aligned with the identity” of the club.
United have a proud tradition of producing their own talents and their young stars won the FA Youth Cup for the 11th time last month in front of an attendance of 67,492 at Old Trafford.
Alejandro Garnacho, Charlie Savage and Zidane Iqbal all made their first-team debuts over the past year while Anthony Elanga has made a breakthrough into the starting XI.
Speaking to United’s official website, Ronaldo said: “The new generation will be the new future for the club,
“I am in favour that we should give opportunities to the young generation because they will be the future.
“But, you have to help them as well to put it in the right spots.
“The pressure is a lot, to play in the Premier League, which I believe is the most difficult league in the world by far.
“And you have to give them time, you have to give them the opportunity and let them grow in a normal way, without pressure.
“But I think we should give opportunities to the young generation.”
