Manchester United's next star forward shines in front of legend Wayne Rooney vs Man City

"Winning while developing players is utopia," a proud Nick Cox said last week.

The development of players will always be the priority of Manchester United's academy, but getting into the habit of winning trophies at a club built on success is no bad trait. The Under-18s were crowned Premier League North champions seven days ago and took another opportunity to win another trophy against rivals Manchester City on Tuesday.

The youngsters have enjoyed a wonderful campaign and the only disappointment from the night was there weren't more fans there to see it. Old Trafford was unable to host the fixture and playing there, with a larger crowd, would have been befitting for a special crop of young players.

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The U18s have taken their league by storm, scoring the most goals in the division, and some believe the group has the same potential as the excellent 2022 FA Youth Cup winning team which included the likes of Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo, Willy Kambwala and Dan Gore. Garnacho and Mainoo are now established first-team players and the chances are a few of the youngsters from Adam Lawrence's side will follow suit.

Harry Amass, Ethan Wheatley, Louis Jackson and Habeeb Ogunneye were all on the bench at Wembley last weekend. All four have featured in senior training over the last few months and have played a key role for the U18s in their outstanding season.

Given how depleted the first-team is it was possible those four players would be saved for the bench against Sheffield United on Wednesday night, but Amass, Jackson and Wheatley started and Ogunneye was named on the bench in a signal of intent.

Remarkably,