Teden Mengi has named Harry Maguire and Brandon Williams as two players who have been key to his development at Manchester United.
The 18-year-old defender is among the most exciting prospects in the club's academy and is in line for a possible full debut against Luton Town in the Carabao Cup tonight. Mengi has played only once before for the senior side, as a substitute against LASK in last season's Europa League.
But he believes he is improving rapidly, largely thanks to the influence of United skipper Maguire and other academy products like Williams.
“I’ve seen a massive improvement in my game, even just from watching the players and watching how everyone else does things and how I do things,” he told United's official website. Mengi has been promoted to the first team squad indefinitely by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
“It’s a lot faster and quicker. Everything is bigger, there’s bigger, more physical players. You’ve got to adapt quickly but it’s really good because you can learn a lot from the players around you which is good for me as I’m really young in the game. I’ve found it really beneficial for me.
“Harry in particular [has been great to me]. He’s really vocal and really specific in what he does and I can always turn to him for help if I’m struggling with anything. I’ve found that really good.
"And Brandon has helped me settle through anything throughout my time at the club and he made it really easy for me when I made my step up from U23s to the first team.”
Mengi admitted it was special to walk out at Old Trafford to make his first team debut, but he is hungry to make more appearances.
“It was a real good feeling,” he added.
“I think anyone who is about to make their debut for United would have a little bit of butterflies, but when I came on it was a really great feeling because I’ve been watching the team since I was a kid. It was a real proud moment.”
