Turning tables on Man City, a new building and more - how Man United academy became a force again

The wall of the Manchester United academy gym at Carrington may be in need of a revamp. It is adorned by Scott McTominay, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho.

Tom Heaton is also on it. At the time of the interior decoration, all four were United first team squad members. Three still are, technically, but Heaton is likely to be the only one remaining come the end of summer.

In the main building, there are young and old images of past graduates. Dean Henderson is one of the most recent, a success story for the United academy but not at United.

United's outgoing academy director Nick Cox celebrated Henderson's man-of-the-match performance in the FA Cup final on X. Henderson was, briefly, United's first homegrown No.1 since Gary Walsh. The chances of an academy talent making the grade at United are more remote than for those in any other position.

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Cox always accepted goalkeepers were a conundrum. Enough were needed to play, train and cover the first team, so a minimum of six were needed in the junior teams. United relish emergency loan calls from clubs for goalkeepers as Henderson's first career appearance was as an emergency loanee at non-league Stockport County in 2016.

The image of Henderson can still motivate the incumbent academy custodians. Henderson has won the FA Cup, will be playing in Europe next season and there are whispers he could supplant Jordan Pickford as the England No.1.

"We take great pride in seeing our boys have great careers away from here," Cox said. "If we hinged everything on who crosses the white line (for