James Wilson has been identified as the future of Manchester United’s attack by Louis van Gaal, with the manager believing the 18-year-old has the potential to one day succeed Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie.

With Van Persie now 31 and injury prone and question marks regarding how long Rooney might play as a striker before potentially moving further back into midfield, Van Gaal is clear Wilson has the talent to replace them.

The manager and club have been questioned regarding the decision to allow Danny Welbeck to depart. Gary Neville, the former captain, described his £16m sale to Arsenal as a “strange one”, and his former United team-mate Paul Scholes also believes it to be a mistake.

However, with Van Gaal having worked at close quarters with Wilson and received glowing recommendations from Ryan Giggs, the Dutchman is confident that the Biddulph-born striker is a far better long-term prospect than Welbeck.

Last season Wilson featured in three match-day squads under the former manager, David Moyes, before, as the Scot’s interim replacement, Giggs handed him a full debut for Hull City’s visit in May. The forward rewarded the Welshman’s faith by scoring twice before a packed Old Trafford in a 3-1 win.

After the game Giggs said: “He is a natural goalscorer but he has got more to his game than that. He can run at people, he has got pace and he is a clever player.”

Wilson has been a prolific scorer at youth level and was the star of United’s run to last season’s Under-21 Premier League final.

Van Gaal gave Wilson first-team minutes under him when the striker came on in the 4-0 defeat at MK Dons and the striker’s emergence was also a factor in the manager’s decision to allow Javier Hernández to go on loan to Real Madrid.