Nobody in world football understands the value of youth football better than Manchester United!

The Red Devils hold the record for having at least one youth academy player in every senior matchday squad for 86 years!

It all began in 1937 when Tom Manley and Jack Wassall were included in the matchday squad against Fulham. Since then, there has always been an academy player in United’s squad, a record which has extended for over 4000 games and counting!

This incredible statistic was revealed by historian Tony Park and has two key criteria:

1. The player has to have signed for the club before the age of 18. And
2. The player should have played a youth-level game before making their senior team appearance.

With the likes of Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho now, suffice to say that this dream record will continue for a long, long time.