Jose Mourinho arriving at Manchester United has raised fears over club's proud history of playing academy graduates... but what is the manager's record with youth?

• Jose Mourinho is expected to be the new Manchester United manager
• He will replace Louis van Gaal, who was happy to play academy graduates
• It has been held against Mourinho that he doesn't give youth its chance
• He has given a number of players their debuts, especially at Real Madrid
• But many of them only had one opportunity to impress under Mourinho 

One of the few positives about Louis van Gaal's two years at Manchester United was that he was willing to give young talent its chance.

Last season, it was Tyler Blackett and Paddy McNair slotting into defence, while this campaign has seen the emergence of Marcus Rashford and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson. All are products of the club's academy.

But the departure of Van Gaal and the imminent arrival of Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford has raised fears that United's proud tradition of playing their own could come to an end.

Jose Mourinho, left, is closing in on the Manchester United manager's job, replacing Louis van Gaal

Mourinho's appointment will raise fears that Manchester United's academy players won't get their chance

Incredibly, you have to go back to October 1937 to find the last time United didn't have an academy graduate in their matchday squad. That's an unbroken run of 3,803 first-team matches at the last count.

But throughout his managerial career, Mourinho has given youth team players their opportunity. It's just that very few have gone on to hold down their place in the team.

At Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Porto, the players Mourinho has taken from the academy and given debuts to have, in the main, not gone on to become regulars.

So while United fans can perhaps expect to continue seeing their own graduates given a chance to impress, those youngsters will really have to seize that opportunity and make a spectacular impact.

We take a look back at the players Mourinho has brought through during his career so far and what happened next. 

Louis van Gaal has not been afraid to play youngsters, including Jesse Lingard (left) and Marcus Rashford

 

Porto (January 2002-June 2004)

Academy products given debut: Ricardo Costa, Joca, Hugo Luz

The Porto side that won the UEFA Cup in 2003 and then the Champions League a year later included the likes of Deco, Ricardo Carvalho and Maniche.

Carlos Alberto, who opened the scoring in their 3-0 win over Monaco in the final, was just 19 at the time but had been signed from Brazilian club Fluminense.

Mourinho did give a promotion to B team defender Ricardo Costa during one of his early matches in charge and he went on to make over 100 first-team appearances.

Defensive midfielder Joca and left-back Hugo Luz were also called up, but made just a handful of appearances for the senior side.

Carlos Alberto, 19 at the time, opened the scoring for Porto as they won the Champions League in 2004

Mourinho kisses the European Cup after Porto beat Monaco 3-0 in the 2004 final in Gelsenkirchen 

 

Chelsea (June 2004-September 2007)

Academy products given debut: Anthony Grant, Steven Watt, Jimmy Smith, Michael Woods, Ben Sahar, Sam Hutchinson, Lenny Pidgeley

Mourinho guided Chelsea to back-to-back Premier League titles, proving that his 'Special One' label was a fitting one.

While it's true that Mourinho did have a number of young players in his side - including John Terry, Petr Cech and Arjen Robben - those academy boys handed debuts weren't really seen again.

Midfielder Anthony Grant made his bow as a late substitute against Manchester United in May 2005, but it was his one and only senior outing and he spent the next three seasons out on loan.

Scottish defender Steven Watt played in an FA Cup tie with Scunthorpe and made one substitute appearance in the league before moving to Swansea in 2006.

Ben Sahar (left) and Michael Woods (right) were two of the Chelsea youngsters handed their debut by Mourinho during his first spell at Stamford Bridge

Jimmy Smith had joined the club's academy aged nine but played just a few minutes of first-team action before completing four loan spells.

He said of his experience: 'It was frustrating that I never really got the chance. I remember thinking I was involved, then I'd go on loan. I'd come back to a new manager and think I'd have another chance. I was always in and around the first team but things changed.'

Chelsea went to great lengths to sign Michael Woods from Leeds United and Mourinho handed him his debut aged 16. He featured in just one other game.

Israeli striker Ben Sahar was tipped for big things but, after playing in Cup games against Macclesfield and Wycombe, he was destined to spend another three years on loan.

San Hutchinson, handed his debut by Mourinho, made a total of six first-team appearances, while goalkeeper Lenny Pidgeley played a couple of games.

Mourinho guided Chelsea to the Premier League title in both of his first two seasons in charge 

 

Inter Milan (June 2008-May 2010)

Academy products given debut: Davide Santon, Rene Krhin, Giulio Donati, Alen Stevanovic, Francesco Bolzoni

The Inter Milan side that won a historic Treble of Serie A, Italian Cup and Champions League in 2009-10 was famously built on experience but a handful of players were lucky enough to be given a debut.

One of Mourinho's first acts was to promote full-back Davide Santon, of Newcastle United fame, from the Primavera side to the first team and he went on to hold down his place.

He was tasked with marking Cristiano Ronaldo in a Champions League tie with Manchester United, earning praise from his manager.

Another one who made a breakthrough was Slovenian midfielder Rene Krhin though he made just five senior appearances.

Alen Stevanovic and Francesco Bolzoni were other academy players given their debuts, but that would remain their only appearance for the club.

Mourinho promoted Davide Santon, seen here playing against David Beckham, to the Inter first team

Mourinho lifts the European Cup after Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich in the 2010 Champions League final

 

Real Madrid (May 2010-June 2013)

Academy players given debut: Antonio Adan, Alex Fernandez, Jese, Jose Rodriguez, Juan Carlos, Nacho, Tomas Mejias, Fabinho, Nacho, Alvaro Morata, Joselu, Denis Cheryshev, Casemiro, Diego Llorente, Omar Mascarell, Fernando Flores, David Mateos, Juan Carlos, Pablo Sarabia

Mourinho's three year spell at the Bernabeu was a turbulent one as they battled Barcelona and the pressure of this rivalry created a culture where patiently blooding youngsters wasn't really the done thing.

Nonetheless, Mourinho did hand debuts to quite a few of the club's academy graduates, in addition to putting faith in young players like defender Raphael Varane.

Among those Mourinho brought into the side was striker Alvaro Morata, who went on to make 52 appearances for the club before joining Juventus.

Alvaro Morata was handed his Real Madrid first team debut by Mourinho 

Another forward, Jese Rodriguez, made his debut in the Copa del Rey during the 2011-12 season and has gone on to establish himself as a first-team regular.

Likewise defender Nacho, who made his debut against Valencia in April 2011 - a match Real won 6-3 - and has played in 79 matches for the club.

It is evident that Mourinho liked the look of the Real production line, handing plenty of other young players their chance to shine, especially in the Copa del Rey.

Of course, not everyone can succeed and the likes of Tomas Mejias, Denis Cheryshev and Omar Mascarell weren't seen again much at the Bernabeu.

Jese Rodriguez was another youngster from the club's academy given his chance by Mourinho

 

Chelsea (June 2013- December 2015)

Academy players given debut: Lewis Baker, Dominic Solanke, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, John Swift, Andreas Christensen, Bertrand Traore

By the time Mourinho returned to Chelsea, their academy was a very well-oiled machine, producing a seemingly endless supply of top quality talent and winning plenty of honours at youth level.

Indeed, Mourinho publicly stated that he would have failed as a coach if the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Dominic Solanke weren't nurtured into international class players.

He therefore handed debuts to a few players though none of them have gone on to nail down a regular starting place.

Mourinho claimed he would have failed as a coach if Ruben Loftus-Cheek didn't make it in the game

Midfielder Lewis Baker, for example, was given his debut in an FA Cup game at Derby but has been out on loan ever since.

Loftus-Cheek has fared slightly better but it's telling that the majority of his 19 first-team appearances came under Guus Hiddink's management, after he replaced Mourinho in December.

Midfielder John Swift played a few minutes at the end of Mourinho's first season but that remains his only senior outing.

Danish defender Andreas Christensen played in the League Cup at Shrewsbury but has only gained real experience during his loan at German side Borussia Monchengladbach.

Mourinho also handed Dominic Solanke his Chelsea debut but we wait to see if he will become a regular