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9 players you probably had no idea were Man Utd academy graduates

Ben Stewart •

Manchester United have quite the reputation for producing superstars through their academy but that doesn’t mean you necessarily know them all.

The United academy grew a huge reputation throughout the nineties when they produced the famous Class of ’92. With the likes of David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and more all coming through at the same time.

We’ve divided into the archives and picked out nine academy graduates who you had no idea spent time at Manchester United.

Jack Harrison

Harrison had his breakthrough in the MLS in 2016 when he first appeared for New York City FC. After two promising seasons in the USA he then made the switch to  Manchester City, but few people know he was previously part of Man United’s academy.

The Leeds United winger spent seven years in the youth ranks at Old Trafford from 2003–2010 before he decided to make the switch over to America.

Ben Brereton Diaz

These days Brereton Diaz is a Chilean sensation. After it was revealed he had Chilean heritage the Stoke-on-Trent-born forward was cast into stardom. He has since gone on to make 17 appearances for Chile, scoring four goals in the process.

These days he is playing for Blackburn Rovers in the Championship, but he did spend a portion of his youth career with United before he was then snapped up by Stoke City.

Dwight McNeil

McNeil made a £20million move over to Everton in the summer transfer window after impressing with Burnley in the Premier League. McNeil supported the Red Devils as a child as was part of their youth setup until he turned 14.

Soon after his release from United, he was snapped up by Burnley and he made his first-team debut for the Clarets in 2018 aged 18.

Robbie Savage

Alright, you probably do know this one, because the Wrexham-born midfielder rarely shuts up about being the ‘forgotten’ member of the Class of ‘92.

He never quite made it at Old Trafford, but still enjoyed a respectable top-level career, with over 600 professional appearances for seven different clubs.

Robbie Savage might have never made a first-team appearance for United, but his son Charlie has already achieved just that.

READ: Everything you need to know about Man Utd starlet Charlie Savage

Joshua King

King has carved out a solid career for himself away from Old Trafford, but fans had high hopes for the Norwegian forward back in the day. King had three loan spells whilst at Manchester United but only ever made two appearances for the club.

His most prolific spell came with Bournemouth in 2016–17 when he managed to score 16 Premier League goals. After short stints at Watford and Everton, he’s now playing for Fenerbahce.

Pierluigi Gollini

From Giuseppe Rossi to Federico Macheda, United have had a handful of Italian players over the years and Gollini could have been another.

The former Spurs back-up goalkeeper spent two years in the United youth academy before deciding to join Hellas Verona in 2014. While at Spurs he didn’t get the chance to make his Premier League debut as all 10 of his appearances came in cup competitions.

These days he is on loan with Fiorentina from his parent club Atalanta.

Ryan Shawcross

Shawcross will forever be synonymous with Tony Pulis’ Stoke City side that took the Premier League by storm back in the day. The tough-tackling defender spent the vast majority of his career at Stoke before finishing his career with a short stint at Inter Miami.

The defender did start out at Old Trafford though and after progressing through the youth ranks he made two appearances for the club in the 2006–07 season.

Robbie Brady

Brady has made 160 Premier League appearances throughout his career and while it was Hull City who gave him his first league appearance, he did come through at Old Trafford.

The winger made just one appearance for United back in 2012–13 in an FA Cup tie. These days he is playing his football for Preston North End in the Championship.

Josh Brownhill

These days Brownhill is captaining Vincent Kompany’s Burnley side in the Championship. The midfielder did get his shot at the Premier League with the Clarets and has made 78 appearances in the top flight.

The 26-year-old spent his early days in the United youth academy before he was picked up by Preston North End in 2012.

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