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Scott McTominay made his full debut for Manchester United in the Premier League game against Crystal Palace.

A number of injuries meant he was the surprise Manchester United squad inclusion for the Premier League fixture with Swansea last season and he got another chance to impress on the pre-season tour.

McTominay, 20, was born in Lancaster and his 6ft 4ins height might have convinced Mourinho to call upon his presence initially.

At the start of 2015, McTominay was only 5ft 6ins but he has benefited from a major growth spurt that took former Reserves coach Warren Joyce aback.

"Scott has just burst onto the scene ," Joyce said. "He could be a proper box-to-box aggressive midfielder and we need to be mindful of that.

"He’s a really good footballer, technically sound with good skills and excellent in the keep-ball sessions."

Joyce drafted McTominay into the Under-21 set-up last year and the youngster made four starts and five substitute appearances, scoring in the Manchester Senior Cup win against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

Due to the Reserves' striker shortage, McTominay has often had to play as an auxiliary forward.

McTominay has the added experience of playing at The Etihad Stadium, Anfield and White Hart Lane with United's second string.

Louis van Gaal gave 14 academy graduates their debuts and Mourinho has handed senior bows to Joel Pereira and Axel Tuanzebe - with McTominay also getting a chance to shine.

"That was an inspiration for me," he told the club website when asked about Marcus Rashford's and Jesse Lingard's breakthroughs. "It just shows how far you can actually come. A lot of people may have written Jesse off when he was a lot younger and smaller and thought he might not be capable of playing at the top level but look at him now, he’s done it.

"Marcus and I were in the Under-16s and we used to do 45 minutes each. We both weren't capable of playing the full game. That was in the no.10 role and we’ve both moved positions; he’s gone up front and I've dropped back into midfield.

"Marcus has what you want to see as a fan: blistering pace. United is by far the best place for producing young players and winning trophies, which is what the club wants to get back to. Everyone wants to keep pushing forward and winning as much as possible."

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