Dwight Yorke has claimed that Mason Greenwood "probably would not have got a game" if Jose Mourinho was still Manchester United boss.
Making his senior debut for the Red Devils last season in their thrilling Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain, the 18-year-old has hit the headlines this campaign after netting 16 goals in 45 games for the club.
The academy ace has formed an impressive front three alongside Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford which could potentially be Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's favoured attack for years to come.
Although it was Mourinho who allowed the frontman to train with the senior squad for the first time at Old Trafford, former treble winner Yorke believes that the youngster would have been really struggling for match action had the Portuguese boss remained at the helm.
"He is getting all the praise right now because he is certainly hot at the moment with what he is doing," said the former striker, as reported by Manchester Evening News.
"The trend at United is that the young players have always been getting chances.
"Under Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, they have not got their chances. Ole has come in and recognised that part of Man United.
"Mason, under Jose, probably would not have got a game.
"Mason is a defender's nightmare. If you look at us in the last 2-3 years, we have been passing sideways, now these guys are driving teams back into their own area. He is a fantastic talent.
"He is better than Rashford, looking at his record now.
"You got to understand though he is still 18, at a development stage. Having Ole there, he would guide him along the way."
Criticised numerous times in the past for not giving academy players a chance in the first team, the same cannot be said about Mourinho during his short time as Tottenham head coach.
A number of players have made the step up from the academy to the senior side since his appointment in November, with Harvey White and Dennis Cirkin both named on the bench since the Premier League restart.
Mourinho has also handed league debuts to Japhet Tanganga and Troy Parrott, while Malachi Fagan-Walcott made his bow in the final few minutes of the Champions League defeat against RB Leipzig one day before his 18th birthday.
Claiming earlier in the month that he has already told Daniel Levy that he wants White and Cirkin as part of his first-team plans next term, a few more may make the step in the not too distant future.
