The seven Manchester United youngsters who could make Erik ten Hag's first-team squad this season

Erik ten Hag mainly played Manchester United's senior professionals during pre-season, but the club's youngsters were still given opportunities on tour in Thailand and Australia. They were desperate to impress and some caught Ten Hag's eye.

United began their pre-season on June 27 and that has meant Ten Hag will have worked with the squad for six weeks when welcoming Brighton to Old Trafford on the opening day of the season. It is understood United's players have responded well to Ten Hag during that period and they are greatly benefiting from his structured training sessions, which have been engaging.

Ten Hag is hands-on during training and his tactical input is guaranteed to improve the club's players, while it also promises to get the best out of the young talent around the squad, as he wasn't afraid to place trust in such players during his time at Ajax.

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United have produced the Busby Babes, the Class of '92 and not many clubs can compete with the Reds' outstanding academy record. United's youth set-up remains world-class, despite the first-team standards at Old Trafford slipping over the last decade.

Ten Hag understands the importance of developing the club's youngsters and that explains why almost a third of United's 31-man travelling squad for their tour of Thailand and Australia was made of players that were aged 21 or younger.

The Qatar World Cup is being held in the winter this year and United are hoping to seriously compete in three competitions - Premier League, Carabao Cup, and FA Cup - which means Ten Hag will inevitably need to use the fringe players in the squad.

It's set to be a gruelling campaign and the club's