Erik ten Hag sends message to Manchester United youngsters as Hannibal and Facundo Pellistri shine

Erik ten Hag has praised Manchester United's youngsters for their performances over pre-season but says they must be 'brave' if they are to remain in the first-team picture.

United ended their summer schedule with a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday thanks to a last-second equaliser from Facundo Pellistri.

The Uruguyan winger was one of many young players who shone for United in the match, with Hannibal Mejbri, Dan Gore and Alvaro Fernandez also catching the eye in Dublin.

It was another productive pre-season for United's illustrious youth academy, with midfielder Kobbie Mainoo arguably the standout performer of the summer, while others like Alejandro Garnacho also caught the eye.

Read more: How the United players rated vs Bilbao

Mainoo will have a good chance of senior minutes once he returns from injury, while Garnacho looks set to start in the season opener against Wolves a week on Monday.

Speaking after the draw with Bilbao, Ten Hag was quizzed on the youngsters and what he made of their performances.

“They deserve it; otherwise, we don’t line them up," he told MUTV. "When you start pre-season, we have to give them opportunities, but they have to take it. They are brave, and that is what I like. Be brave, play football, and show yourself. If you want to play in the first team, you have to take responsibility in and out of possession, and those young guys are doing it.

"I am happy with their development. Such games like this one also last week against Dortmund, we had the game against Wrexham. That is so valuable for the young players, from those games. They learn and they improve a lot."