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Manchester United manager names six exciting youngsters for the future

Neil Wood praised the work ethic of his Manchester United youth after reflecting on promoting the Under 23s to Premier League 2.

The United Under 23 boss has seen a marked improvement since taking the reins, assisted by former midfielder Quinton Fortune. And he chose Brandon Williams, Ethan Laird, James Garner, Dylan Levitt, Ethan Galbraith and Arnau Puigmal as players who embody the offensive and hardworking spirit of the Academy teams.

He believes there will be great things to come from those players and the U23 squad in general after they are promoted based on points per match calculation.

“You saw them all the way through when they entered the system and it was really part of their identity,” Wood told United’s website.

“Brandon in particular and Ethan too, they love to defend but they also love to attack. If you can get those two flying up and down, it’s a sight to watch them. It’s exciting and we were creating opportunities.

“It was nice to watch but challenging for them and we ask them. At times I thought they were thinking “give us a break” really, but they kept going and you saw Brandon got his awards and done exceptionally well with the first team. Ethan also recently trained with the first team and I am very happy with them.

“When you think of the midfielders we had there, we had Jimmy Garner, Dylan Levitt and Ethan Galbraith – a good mix of talent as they all have different things that complement each other so well.

“At times, Arnau Puigmal even went there to add something different as he likes to run forward and attack and he scored some goals for himself. With the vision, the creativity and the range of passing, as well as the accuracy, that those guys can play, he was a vital component of the team. “

Wood is ensuring that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s philosophy is replicated in the Under 23s and brought him success in his first full season in charge.

“I wanted to see the kind of Manchester United traits: really good possession with quick attacks, creating chances and goals,” added Wood.



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“At the same time, being organized defensively, being strong and showing resilience and there’s a lot of character in there.

“When I was offered the job for the first time, I was thrilled. I knew we had an exciting group of young players coming up and I knew I could influence them and get them to play the way I wanted them to play.

“I wanted a style of play of the big United teams that we saw and that was my challenge and how I wanted to do it. I wanted to train a lot with individual development going on in the background, so I’m happy.”

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