With Manchester United's defence looking threadbare, Louis van Gaal turned to youngster Patrick McNair for cover and he started in the win over West Ham on Saturday. But who is he? JOE BERNSTEIN takes a look.

Who is Patrick McNair and where has he come from?

He's a 19-year-old Manchester United defender from Antrim in Northern Ireland. He was the Belfast and East Antrim Youth League under 11s player of the year in 2004 and made the same move as George Best and Jonny Evans to Manchester United at the age of 16. Now a member of United's under 21 squad.

Paddy McNair made his Manchester United debut against West Ham

McNair tangles with West Ham's Enner Valencia during the 2-1 win

Why is he suddenly news?

Injuries to Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Jonny Evans, and suspension for Tyler Blackett means Louis van Gaal hasn't got enough experienced central defenders left for the first-team. So McNair, who was originally a midfielder but has converted to a defender, was thrown in for an unlikely Premier League debut against West Ham at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Patrick McNair in action for Man United's Under 21 team in the Premier League final against Chelsea in May

Louis van Gaal will consider playing McNair in Saturday's Old Trafford clash with West Ham

Wow, that must have been the biggest game he's ever played?

You could say that. His previous biggie was his Northern Ireland under 21s debut against Serbia earlier this month. Northern Ireland lost the game 4-1 in Portadown and the crowd was 285, rather than the 75,317 he played in front of at Old Trafford.

McNair could slot in for injury-ravaged Man United in their Premier League match with West Ham on Saturday

What sort of player is he?

It's always difficult to make comparisons between generations but older United fans might see a little bit of Gary Pallister about him in his ability to read the game and technical ability on the ball. He's had a growth spurt over the last couple of years to pass the 6ft mark and he's not bad in the air either. Reserve team manager Warren Joyce still thinks he could do a job in midfield too, but United aren't short of those at the moment!

McNair closes down Liverpool's Kristoffer Peterson during a recent Under 21 clash at Anfield

Finally, Patrick or Paddy?

He's known as Paddy around Old Trafford and that is what the United website officially list him as in their squad profiles. But who really knows what will stick? When Ferguson came down from Aberdeen in 1986, he made a point of telling the media his name was Alec rather than Alex, but that didn't really work out for him!