Manchester United star Paul Pogba has opened up on the relationship he has with the club's young players after a number were promoted to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad this season.
Pogba has been sidelined since September due to an ankle injury, which together with Nemanja Matic's lengthy spell out, has somewhat decimated United 's midfield.
Scott McTominay has performed superbly in the absence of Pogba, though, and has been earmarked by some pundits as a future captain of the club .
But the 23-year-old is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the promising generation which is coming through the ranks beneath him at United.
Left-back Brandon Williams has impressed of late and Mason Greenwood has shown flashes of his raw potential with a string of eye-catching displays this season.
Pogba, a United academy graduate himself, has offered his verdict on the Reds' youth ahead of the club's 4,000 consecutive game with a homegrown player named in the squad against Everton on Sunday.
Asked if the young players have been taking their opportunities, Pogba told the club's website : "Yes. Mason, since the first training session that I saw him in, and Brandie (Brandon Williams), Jimmy (Garner), Angel (Gomes), Chongy (Tahith Chong) and all the players.
"Axel (Tuanzebe) as well, although I don’t see him as a young guy, for me, he has been in the first team for a long time, Timo (Tim Fosu-Mensah) as well, but the younger ones, they have the quality, they have everything to be in the first team. They’ve been playing and having some minutes and they should enjoy it when they’re on the pitch and work hard. Mason is scoring goals, Brandie has been playing games like he’s been there for six months already. This is about what the club is about and what the manager wants."
The 26-year-old also touched on what he has been telling United's young players of late during the club's injury issues across the park.
"I’ve said to a lot of the young players who have been with the first team: ‘Guys, you don’t know how lucky you are’. Unfortunately for us, we’ve had a lot of injured players and it’s therefore a big chance for the young players to be involved with the first team," Pogba added.
"They have the chance to do well and stay there. So I said to them: ‘Take this luck and take this opportunity because it’s important until the other players come back fit’. You never know, there could be an injured player and a young player comes in and plays a great game and they stay with the first team until the end of their career.
"So I’ve told them: ‘Guys, be ready and always take the opportunity’. If they have quality to be with the first team then why not take the opportunity and play and enjoy yourself?"
