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QUINTON FORTUNE played more than 100 times for Manchester United before going on to coach in their academy.
Having starred alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo under Sir Alex Ferguson, the South African had plenty of knowledge to pass on to United’s budding youngsters.
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Fortune, 46, worked as the Red Devils’ Under-23s assistant manager during the 2019-20 season, coaching many players that have gone on to make it as senior pros, both at Old Trafford and elsewhere.
Chatting to Metro, the former full-back lifted the lid on which ex-United youngsters he would like to have seen his old team keep.
He said: “I was very fortunate to work with Teden Mengi, Jimmy (Garner) and Anthony Elanga – Andreas Pereira as well, who got into the first team after joining as a kid.
“I would love to have them all now, in hindsight you look back and think all of these kids are doing so great and they should be with us!
“But I’m happy for them because they’re doing what they love – their goal was obviously to play in the Premier League, and they’re playing.”
Mengi, 21, left Man Utd for Luton last summer, while Elanga departed for Nottingham Forest for £15million.
Garner signed for Everton in a deal potentially rising to £15m in 2022.
And Andreas Pereira joined Fulham for £10m the same summer.
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On whether United’s promising homegrown players could have excelled at the Theatre of Dreams, Fortune added: “I don’t know if that would have been the situation at Manchester United if they had stayed, that’s the difficult part for those kids.
“And I have to take my hat off to them because Teden and Jimmy were at Manchester United since they were babies.
“So for them to leave it was a big decision, to leave the nest.
“Credit to Jimmy because he went on loan to teams a couple of times in the Championship and it was a brave decision leaving United, oh my goodness, but he wanted to play.
“You have to earn your way to play every week and he wanted to prove himself.
“It’s hard to see them doing well because you want to see them at United, but the other side is that it’s great to see them doing well because they’re good kids and good players, and I am happy for them.”
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