Manchester United have been very good at producing youngsters, with a very long line of players such as Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher. Even more recently, other examples are Danny Welbeck, Jonny Evans and Darren Gibson. Here. we look at some of the other players who have the potential to rise from the academy reserve sides, and though some mentioned are not British like the players mentioned above, they can still become big Manchester United stars.

1. Ravel Morrison

Academy star and the versatile Ravel Morrison is an exciting prospect at Manchester United, can play in the middle of the park, out wide or as a second striker. The Telegraph’s Henry Winter rates him highly in a section of a piece about Sir Alex and the FA:

Better than Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere, certainly up there with Jack Rodwell, if Morrison does emerge as the pre-eminent English footballer of his generation, it will be because of a certain Scot’s shrewd guidance.

Another interesting link on the young 16-year-old is one from The Republik of Mancunia, which includes an assessment of the midfielder, and a video highlighting his talent. I’ve seen some footage of the player on MUTV, and although he looks very good I think it is far too early to decide if he is indeed “The Next Big Thing” but definitely the one you have to keep an eye on.

2. Joshua King

Joshua King is someone who I personally believe can be the next United star. Not too different to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, both Norweigan, both forwards and of course he is now mentored from reserve coach Solskjaer himself. King made the bench for United Carling Cup side against Wolves in the 3rd round earlier this year.

United’s Under-18 coach Paul McGuiness is very impressed with the young lad’s potential:

“He’s going to be a very good athlete. He’s tall, strong and a very powerful player. He’s a strong runner with or without the ball and he can beat defenders.”

3. Paul Pogba

This is a player who I have seen very little of, but after all that controversy in the summer, from what I have read of him he sounds very good. Pogba is a midfielder who can also play in defence. According to the Manchester United official website Pogba had a very impressive debut:

He made his debut for United’s Under-18s in a 2-1 defeat to Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road on 10 October 2009. Although on the losing side, it was an eye-catching first outing in a Reds shirt.

This is obviously someone who United had an eye on, and signing him at the age of 16 caused an angry backlash from former club Le Havre, and that indicates how highly they rate him.

4. Tom Cleverley

I done a piece on the on-loan midfielder a couple of months ago, and you’d be pleased to hear that he is continuing his very good from for Watford, already finding the net six times and creating plenty of goals for his team mates over at Vicarage Road. Also plays for the England U21 side.

Others to look out for:

Febian Brandy, (Striker) who is on-loan to Gillingham.

Matthew James, (Midfielder) whose versatility is described by McGuiness as “a real asset to the team.”

Daniel Drinkwater, (Midfielder) A player who is quickly rising up the ranks

Corry Evans, (Defender) Younger brother of Jonny, who made the bench for them Carling Cup 4th round game not long ago.