Erik ten Hag's own career hints at players key to Manchester United rebuild

There are now just two games left before Erik ten Hag's reign at Manchester United finally begins. A trip to Brighton this weekend is the penultimate outing of the campaign and another chance to lay the groundwork for the future, with plenty of youngsters in contention to feature.

While victory over Brentford at the start of the week had the feeling of a testimonial about it, Saturday's venture to the South Coast will be a chance for new beginnings and an opportunity to show fans what the future could hold.

One of the key reasons why United opted for Ten Hag to become their next manager was because of his track record of producing exciting young talent, another was the work ethic he demands from his players, a trait born from his own career as a player.

READ MORE ON TEN HAG: 'A poor man's Virgil van Dijk and a real team player' - What Manchester United can expect from Erik ten Hag and Mitchell van der Gaag

Although he shot to fame with his success at Ajax, the 52-year-old is just as well known for his time playing for FC Twente, where he enjoyed three different spells over the course of his 13-year professional career.

Ten Hag was a defensive player for much of his career, playing predominately as a centre-back while also enjoying spells at full-back and as a holding midfielder.

It was in the deep midfield role that he started his third spell at Twente, where he played alongside former United loanee Rob McKinnon, a former Scotland international who fondly recalls his time with the United manager-in-waiting.

"Most Dutch players at that time were good technically, they pride themselves on it, he wasn't a hard ball-winning midfield but he kept everything ticking over," McKinnon told the Manchester Evening News.

"Lots of