Harry Maguire has praised Kobbie Mainoo and Facundo Pellistri after the pair made their Manchester United first-team debuts.
United defeated Charlton 3-0 in the quarter-final of the League Cup at Old Trafford on Tuesday night and Erik ten Hag named Mainoo in his starting line up for the match, which was the 17-year-old midfielders' first appearance for the club.
Mainoo was replaced by Casemiro on the hour mark after a competent display and Pellistri was given a chance to make his long-awaited debut for United shortly after, when being substituted onto the pitch for Anthony Elanga in the 84th minute.
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Pellistri signed for United in October 2020 for £9million and he finally made his debut after over two years in Manchester. The winger was also able to make an immediate impact on the game by providing Marcus Rashford with an assist for his first goal.
After the game, Maguire lauded the youngsters' debut appearances and said he's been particularly impressed by Mainoo in training.
"Yeah, this club, since I've been here, which is over four years now, gives chances to young players when they're doing well," Maguire told MUTV. Kobbie [Mainoo] has been doing really well in training and he really deserved this start.
"He'll learn a lot from it, it's great experience. A proud moment for him and his family and he did brilliantly. Also, [Facundo] Pellistri had a great World Cup, it was great to see him play so well at that tournament. He's come back and looked really bright.
"You saw that when he came on the pitch. He really upped the tempo and was really direct with his runs. He'll be a big asset for us."
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