Manchester United captain, Bruno Fernandes has nothing but words of praise for the club youngsters as he also sends a strong message to the senior players.
Despite being tipped for the Premier League title, United have failed to play at the highest level and are currently fighting for a spot in Europe next season.
Despite their bad form, Erik ten Hag has been able to bring out the best in the youth players with Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho playing at the highest level.
Fernandes has now shared his thoughts on the development, praising the club’s historic academy before adding that senior players needed to ‘step up’ to relieve the pressure on their graduates.
‘I think the team needs to step up in certain moments to also make them feel confident to have their bad moments, their bad games, or even to let them have less pressure on themselves to be the players that have to make the difference in certain moments,’ he told Manchester United’s website.
At this club, you are used to having young players coming through the Academy and you’re used to the club buying young players that they feel can have a future at the club. You just mentioned two of them,’ he said, responding to a question about Mainoo and Garnacho.
‘They’ve been playing most and they’ve been doing well. They’ve been doing great things.
‘But, when the team is playing better, it’s going to create an even better place for them to [continue their] development and to be a better player. To be in a better place, being more confident, having more trust and playing even better.
‘Even if they’re doing well, I think there is always space for improvement for everyone, but obviously when the team improves, everyone else improves individually.’
‘I think they’ve been really good; they’ve been improving themselves. It’s just the first steps. They need to keep going, because obviously the expectations are going to grow, game by game, season by season.
‘And we all know that at this club that they all expect a lot from the youngest, even more when they come from the Academy, because it’s part of the history of the club, and they have a big responsibility on their shoulders.’
Just like Garnacho and Mainoo, Willy Kambwala and Omari Forson have also ascended to the first team this season, making their debuts.
