Lingard and Rashford will be Van Gaal's legacy at Manchester United

It was August 2014 and Louis van Gaal’s first starting lineup as Manchester United boss contained an unlikely name at right-wing-back. That name was Jesse Lingard, an attacking player by trade, but thrust into the limelight because of injuries elsewhere.

Lingard lasted only 24 minutes that day before succumbing to injury himself, but his selection showed from the very start that Van Gaal was willing to give academy graduates their chance. In the past two seasons, the Dutchman has handed first-team debuts to 14 of the club’s youngsters.

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Chris Flanagan
Senior Staff Writer

Chris joined FourFourTwo in 2015 and has reported from more than 20 countries, in places as varied as Ivory Coast and the Arctic Circle. He's interviewed Pele, Zlatan and Santa Claus (it's a long story), as well as covering the World Cup, AFCON and the Clasico. He previously spent 10 years as a newspaper journalist, and completed the 92 in 2017.