FFP boost and buyback clauses - Manchester United's new 'smarter' youth transfer policy explained

Few clubs face scrutiny at youth level quite like Manchester United.

Omari Forson recently became the 249th academy graduate to make their competitive debut for the senior side and United have now continued to feature a youth player in the first-team squad for over 4,000 consecutive games.

It's not enough to rest on those laurels. United have set the standards for youth development for decades and the real challenge is to not only maintain those standards but raise them as well.

EXCLUSIVE: Brailsford meeting former United staff as 'brutal' changes planned

LUCKHURST: What the United squad will look like by the end of January

In the past decade, it has sometimes felt like a token gesture. Youth team players seemed to almost get an opportunity simply because they were homegrown rather than ready for exposure.

Erik ten Hag was keen to ensure it wasn't the case. A key reason why he was appointed was because of his track record of nurturing youth talent at Ajax, one of the few clubs with a reputation for producing players that can rival United's.

Ten Hag has taken on a more hands-on approach with the academy since he joined the club, having felt the U21s were 'isolated' before his arrival and he now takes an active role in deciding which youngsters train with the first team.

He has insisted on 'cooperation between all the different departments', as he had at Ajax and has set the challenge for at least one youth team player to become part of the first team during every season he's at the club. Alejandro Garnacho was first and Kobbie Mainoo was second.

It's easier said than done, though. Ten Hag doesn't want to hand out places just for the sake of it and he has made it clear that only the very best youth prospects will be