What happened to the six youth team stars Jose Mourinho gave Man Utd debuts to
Jose Mourinho would not define his period as Manchester United boss a failure.
The Portuguese boss won the League Cup and Europa League during his time at Old Trafford, and still reiterates that a second place finish in the Premier League was one of his finest managerial achievements.
But in reality, the Red Devils had not taken any steps closer to a title charge from when he took over until when he was eventually dismissed.
United fans grew frustrated by Mourinho's tedious style and some of his biggest stars cut forlorn figures as dressing room relationships broke down.
However, the 58-year-old cannot be accused of failing to maintain United's proudest tradition after handing debuts to six academy youngsters.
Daily Star Sport takes a look back at the six debutants and where they are now…
Scott McTominay
Mourinho's admiration for McTominay was best highlighted when the young Scottish midfielder surprisingly won the 'Manager's player of the year' award in 2018.
"This player has given everything in five or six months, so my player of the year has to be Scott McTominay," Mourinho said.
McTominay was handed his debut in May 2017 against Arsenal and has continued his rise ever since.
The midfielder has become an important member of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's current squad, and holds great admiration for Mourinho for giving him his first-team chance.
Axel Tuanzebe
Tuanzebe has grown from a child to a man at United after joining the academy at the age of eight.
He made his first-team debut under Mourinho in an FA Cup victory over Wigan in January 2017.
The centre-back impressed in two separate loan spells at Aston Villa in 2018 and 2019.
His best performance in a United shirt so far was the Champions League victory over PSG last season, where he dealt briliantly with superstars Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
But he is still yet to become a regular first-team member and is set to go out on loan again this summer.
Angel Gomes
Few players have generated as much excitement in United's academy setup as Angel Gomes.
He created history when Mourinho made him the youngest United debutant since Duncan Edwards after he came on in the final game of the season against Crystal Palace aged 16.
But the diminutive playmaker failed to regularly feature in United's first-team plans thereafter, and rejected a contract offer before joining Ligue 1 side Lille in 2020.
Gomes, now 20, spent his first season as a Lille player out on loan at Portuguese side Boavista.
Joel Pereira
Pereira finally left United this summer after nine years at the club with various loan spells.
He made his first-team debut in the same FA Cup game as Tuanzebe in 2017, but only managed three appearances in total.
The Portuguese shot-stopper signed for Eredivisie side RAK Waalwijk in July and will be hoping to spark his career into life with consistent game time.
Josh Harrop
Not many young footballers can boast about completing their dream and scoring at a packed-out Old Trafford.
But Harrop did just that by firing home the opening goal for the Red Devils on his debut in a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the 2016/17 season.
However, that is all United fans got to see of Harrop after he rejected a new deal at Old Trafford to sign for Preston, where he was afforded more first-team game time.
Harrop, 25, spent the second half of the 2020/21 season out on loan at Ipswich Town.
Demetri Mitchell
Mourinho handed Mitchell his Red Devils debut in the same game as Harrop as he rung the changes before a Europa League final against Ajax.
Mitchell's development has since been hampered massively by a serious knee injury, causing him to miss the entirety of the 2019/20 season.
He was released by United last year but played an important part in Blackpool's promotion to the Championship last season.
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