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Jose Mourinho will not close the first-team door on the kids who rescued Manchester United’s season.

The new United boss has promised executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward that he will bring the glory days back to Old Trafford.

And he is prepared to spend every single penny of the £200million transfer fund he will inherit to make sure that he has a team capable of challenging for the title in his first season.

But while United fans get themselves hyped up about the prospect of seeing big-money names like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Karim Benzema, Joao Mario, Raphael Varane, Saul, Willian and John Stones wearing the famous red shirt next season, it is understood that a key element of Mourinho’s talks with executive vice-chairman was his willingness to maintain the United tradition of developing their own players.

(Image: Action Images via Reuters / Carl Recine)

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Homegrown Jesse Lingard scored the wonder goal that ensured Louis van Gaal’s last act as United manager last Saturday was to lift the FA Cup.

And the Dutchman has bequeathed Mourinho a squad packed with talented youngsters like Marcus Rashford , Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Tim Fosu-Mensa and Paddy McNair.

Sunday Mirror Sport can also reveal that one of the first things Woodward did once he had sealed a deal with Mourinho to sign a three-year contract was to resurrect United’s bid for West Ham teenager Reece Oxford.

(Image: James Griffiths)

United’s scouting department has spent the last few months working on two lists of potential signings - one of them drawn up by Van Gaal.

Oxford, the 17-year-old Hammers defender who made his debut last summer, was a target identified by Van Gaal.

United’s interest had cooled in recent weeks, but Mourinho is also an admirer of the England Under-19 international and the belief is that they will now beat off competition from Manchester City and Liverpool to land the £10million-rated teenager.

Oxford will only agree to the move, however, if he is given assurances that he will be given first-team opportunities.

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Mourinho’s brief is to win the Premier League next season.

Van Gaal’s targets revolved around finishing in the top four to qualify for the Champions League. But the stakes are higher for a manager who won three titles with Chelsea as well as being a champion in Portugal, Italy and Spain.

And Mourinho made it clear to Woodward that it’s a challenge he is capable of winning. But he is also aware of the need to uphold United’s proudest traditions.

The Portuguese bristles at suggestions his teams are not capable of playing the kind of attacking football that United fans crave after two years of Van Gaal’s sterile possession-obsessed game.

And he is aware of the need to promote youth.

(Image: Action Images via Reuters) (Image: Matthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty)

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United have had a homegrown player in every first-team squad since 1937.

And when 18-year-old Manchester-born striker Rashford marked his England debut with a goal in the 2-1 victory over Australia in Sunderland on Friday night, he became the 108th international player to have come through the club’s youth ranks.

Mourinho has suggested that United will use both the Europa League and Capital One Cup as breeding grounds for the new generation next season.