Young stars mix with United squad

The world’s best under-15 players mixed it with some Premier League stars at the Manchester United Premier Cup on Friday.

Teams from all around around the world are competing to be crowned world champions; with the final being held at Old Trafford.

The tournament has a long history of bringing young stars to the attention of big clubs; the Da Silva brothers Fabio and Rafael featured in the tournament in 2005 for Fluminense.

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas played for Barcelona in the 2002 edition while more recently Jack Wilshere starred for Arsenal in 2007.

This year, teams such as Chelsea, Valencia and Boca Juniors are competing for the honour of being crowned the best under-15 side in the world.

As well as the more well-known teams, sides from as far away as Ghana’s The Right to Dream academy have also been competing.

Manchester United’s Michael Owen said that it was part of a continuing trend of talent emerging around the world.

“Football has changed over the years, it’s not just domestic now. You look at the Premier League and see how many players are coming from all corners of the earth,” Owen said.

“If you’re exposing children at 14 or 15 or younger, to playing against players from different countries you are learning all the time.”

“Different subtleties in the way teams play. I think the earlier you introduce kids to different things its better for their development.”

Former Manchester United star Brian McClair – the club’s academy manager – said that the standard was improving at every tournament.

“I think year in year out they are getting better and better. I’ve been fortunate enough to spend some time with kids in my career, just a little older than these ones, and I can see there’s a lot of quality here.”

The cup final takes place on Saturday.