United Youngsters On Midtjylland Mission

As ManUtd.com revealed on Wednesday morning, Manchester United's 18-man squad for tonight's Europa League game against FC Midtjylland contains three players who have yet to make their first-team debuts and another two who have only have featured as substitutes so far.

Here's our brief guide to these five young players who are hoping to emulate their peer Andreas Pereira, who recently took his senior appearances tally into double figures...

Will Keane, Striker, 23 | 0 (2) games, 0 goals - Scoring a quintuple in United Under-21s' recent 7-0 hammering of Norwich City really heralded the return of Keane, who had a gap of more than four years between his two first-team outings so far. A serious knee injury, four loan spells away from the club and arguably the rise of colleague / competitor James Wilson all contributed to Will's dearth of senior action with the Reds, although he did make more than 40 league appearances in total for Wigan, QPR, Sheffield Wednesday and Preston between 2013 and 2015. Recalled to the club during the January transfer window, he came off the bench at Sunderland on Saturday and could be looking at a first start following the news that captain Wayne Rooney has a knee problem.

Donald Love, Defender, 21 | 0 (1) games, 0 goals - The Rochdale-born youngster was named in United's matchday squad for the first time on Saturday at Sunderland and if there was a plan for him to simply soak up the atmosphere and observe from the bench, that all changed in the first half when Matteo Darmian was injured. As the Italian right-back left the field with a dislocated shoulder, Scotland Under-19 international Love entered the fray on Valentine's weekend and fared well, albeit in a disappointing 2-1 defeat. Chris Smalling told us, "He stepped up and was terrific."

Regan Poole, Defender, 17 | 0 games, 0 goals - Paperwork meant Poole had to be patient before playing for United at any level following his transfer from Welsh club Newport County last summer. His international clearance came through in January and he has since made three appearances for the Under-21s with a debut as a substitute in the behind-closed-doors defeat at Everton being followed by full games in the victories over Manchester City and Reading.

Joe Riley, Defender, 19 | 0 games, 0 goals (pictured above left) - The boy from Blackpool arrived at United as a midfielder but his versatility has led to him being successfully converted to left-back this season under Warren Joyce's tutelage in the Under-21s. Riley's ability on the ball was spotlighted last year when he was named Player of the Tournament at a six-a-side competition in Germany.

James Weir, Midfielder, 20 | 0 games, 0 goals (pictured above right) - "You've never heard of him but he is a very good player in my opinion." So said Louis van Gaal at Wednesday's pre-match press conference in Denmark, while reminding Jesse Lingard that he still faces stiff internal competition from colleagues at the club. The attack-minded Weir has weighed in with some important goals for the Under-21s this term, not least the decisive strike against then league-leaders Sunderland in last month's 1-0 win. He was in the senior match squad for the first time last month, as an unused sub for the 3-3 draw at Newcastle United.

Credit: Manutd.com