Louis van Gaal believes the emergence of talents like Marcus Rashford, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Guillermo Varela has vindicated his decision to downsize Manchester United's senior ranks.
The manager spoke at Friday's press conference about the positive effects of younger players getting their opportunity in the first team and how this swayed his decision not to enter the winter transfer market.
"In January we took the risk not to buy a left full-back. We needed one, but we said maybe Borthwick-Jackson and Varela could do the job. There was interest from Spanish clubs for Varela but we said no.
“All the young players are hungry and a colleague of yours (another journalist) used the word 'desire' which is a very good word. They want to prove and show to the manager, to everybody, that they are the best. They always give spirit to the team and that’s why we decided not to invest in January.
"The policy is to have a small selection so you can give youngsters a chance. Thanks to my policy and the club who approved it, Rashford is there and it's the same with Borthwick-Jackson and Varela.”
Van Gaal admitted there are potential disadvantages to fielding too many young players too often but pointed out that the recent reliance on them has done little to harm United's chances of success this season.
“It’s about consistency and youngsters are not consistent," he added. "Of course there are exceptions like Anthony Martial but that is a big exception. Most of the players cannot show that every week so it’s a big risk but we are still in three competitions and the team has more spirit.
"We have a great momentum because we have discovered that a lot of young players can play at this level and the [senior] players who are now coming back have to compete with these youngsters. That's fantastic."
When asked about the level of pressure the likes of Rashford would be subjected to at the business end of the season, van Gaal responded: “I don’t want to give pressure to the young players. It is fantastic what he [Rashford] has done already because he was one of the youngsters who have made a great contribution to the new spirit in our team. The others include Borthwick-Jackson and Varela, and also now Timothy Fosu-Mensah and James Weir. They give a lot of spirit.
“Borthwick-Jackson, Rashford and Varela have done very well and it will be more difficult for the older players to come back. But when the older players reach their [true] level, then it will also be difficult for the youngsters to continue in the line-up.”
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