Louis van Gaal has dismissed suggestions that he is stripping Manchester United of their heritage by maintaining that the youngsters at Old Trafford are "guardians of the club".
Two products of the youth system, Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley, both left the Red Devils in deadline-day moves, which led to some questioning Van Gaal's decision to seemingly divert from a longstanding tradition of bringing local players through to the first team.
However, Van Gaal has said that he is willing to put youngsters into his starting XI, so long as their "quality" shines through.
He is quoted as saying by The Mirror: "For me, money doesn't say anything. Quality says everything.
"I call young players the guardians of the club. Every youth player coming up is a guardian because he learns the culture from a child.
"The class of '92 were guardians of the culture of the club. And it is very important that a club like Manchester United have guardians – and therefore you need a very good youth education."
Van Gaal will be looking for his second win as Man Utd boss this afternoon when they face Leicester City. Kickoff is at 1.30pm and you can join Sports Mole for a live minute-by-minute text commentary.
Kristian Johnson
