Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund reach the second stage of European Golden Boy award

Manchester United’s youth is gaining international recognition as Alejandro Garnacho has made it to the second stage of the Golden Boy Award.

Joining him there is prospective new signing, Rasmus Hojlund, who broke through after scoring nine goals in Serie A last season.

The Golden Boy Award is given to the most promising youngster in Europe and has served as the launchpad of many great careers.

Gavi is the reigning winner of the award, with names like Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, and Pedri also having won it in the past.

This year’s favourites are expected to be Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala and Jude Bellingham.

Making it to stage two of the award is still a remarkable achievement for Garnacho, as he was playing for United U18s as recently as the 2021/22 season.

He had his breakthrough at United last year, as his fearlessness and direct style brought a breath of fresh air and got supporters off their seats.

In 19 Premier League appearances, he scored three and assisted two but his presence off the bench was a game-changer.

Hojlund, on the other hand, has enjoyed a meteoric rise.

He punctuated the rise with a transfer to his dream club Manchester United barely a year after he was playing for SK Sturm Graz in Austrian First Division.

He is set to join for a fee of about £70 million including add-ons, difficult and achievable in a deal that would give the club a high-potential wonderkid striker after a long time.

There is no greater honour for youngsters than the Golden Boy Award and the presence of two United players is a credit to the club- the youth academy, as well as recruitment in Hojlund’s case.