Nicky Butt reveals Manchester United youngster that Jose Mourinho wanted in first-team training at age 15

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Nicky Butt has revealed how Jose Mourinho wanted Mason Greenwood to train with the first-team at 15 and how Louis van Gaal changed Manchester United.

The former head of first-team development suddenly left the club in March and is yet to find a new role in football.

Having developed as a player through the United academy alongside the infamous Class of 92, Butt left as a player to join Newcastle in 2004 before finishing his career in 2011 in South China.

Returning to Old Trafford as a coach a year later, Butt was at the club when Sir Alex Ferguson retired and saw the transition under David Moyes, Van Gaal and Mourinho.

Though Mourinho is often portrayed as a polarising coach who prefers seasoned veterans over youth players, Butt said he was extremely helpful, if at times selfish, and had a keen eye on the next generation of the club.

“And then Jose came in,” he said in an interview with The Athletic. “An unbelievable character. I was his academy manager so I wondered what it would be like. The reality was that he spoke to me every single morning at breakfast. He asked me about young players, he was approachable, he was helpful. He was single-minded and selfish – and whether you like it or not, that’s what the best managers are.

“He would ask me which players I wanted to move up. He asked: ‘Who is this kid Greenwood?’ when Mason was 15. ‘Bring him to train with us,’ and I said: ‘We can’t, because he’s at school and there are rules and regulations.’

“I pushed Scott McTominay and explained that he was a good kid who he’d like; one who was aggressive, can run and pass. Jose had him training and Scott never looked back.

“Jose sat with the under-19s ahead of a trip to Portugal. He told them what to expect, he said that Victor Lindelof will be the next big player. Jose was good and, for an elite manager with his record, he was very, very good with me.”

On Van Gaal, who was in charge prior to Mourinho, Butt said his management style wasn’t what he was used to given how open things were at United at the time but he accepted that those days were gone.

“Louis van Gaal came in. I’ve heard what people say about him. He was totally different to anything I’d ever seen in my life in the way he managed his set-up. He was firm and partitions went up for meetings. At first, I was thinking: ‘This isn’t right, this is not how we do things.’ But it was no longer ‘we’ — that world had gone.

“Van Gaal respected United’s past but wanted to do things his way. His training and management was very structured. I really enjoyed watching how he trained with his coaches. They were good people, it was good for me to learn and I speak highly of Louis. He was approachable, he had a phenomenal CV.”

Butt did say that while he was tempted to question Van Gaal’s and Mourinho’s way of managing, he ultimately stayed quiet and learnt what he could from two of the greatest coaches in world football.

“It would have been easy – and very arrogant – for me to say: ‘What do these people know? This is our club. I played here, I’m a Mancunian, what do they know?’ So I didn’t. My attitude was that I wanted to take a bit from all of them.”

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