How Cristiano Ronaldo is helping Manchester United's Class of 2022 in quest to win FA Youth Cup

It is a quiet and overcast Thursday morning at Carrington. The first-team are due at the Hyatt hotel in the afternoon for their nocturnal fixture with Chelsea and there is more activity across the car park inside the academy building.

On the indoor artificial pitch, the Manchester United youth team is huddled together to hear a member from the Foundation deliver a stark speech on the number of deprived youngsters in Manchester. The only player conspicuous by his absence is Alejandro Garnacho, with the senior squad.

The coach, Travis Binnion, thanks the journalists for attending. The academy head, Nick Cox, joins the huddle, placing his arm avuncularly around Charlie McNeill.

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It is a sombre sermon. While many of the hushed teenagers are naturally shy in the presence of half-a-dozen or so grizzled journalists, some have also suffered such hardships.

The captain, Rhys Bennett, greets us with firm handshakes. Bennett, like his captaincy predecessors at Youth Cup level, is an articulate talker at ease with reporters twice or triple his age.

Some of his teammates are more introverted. Daniel Gore leaves opponents chasing shadows in midfield but is quieter off the pitch when dealing with the reporters.

Gore has looked at home at Old Trafford in the previous round of the FA Youth Cup and will have a record audience to perform in front of in Wednesday's final against Nottingham Forest. At the time of writing, United have sold more than 50,000 tickets, priced at £1, with all proceeds going to the Foundation. The attendance is expected to trounce the competition record of 38,187 for the 2007 semi-final first leg between Arsenal and United at