Manchester United academy chief Nicky Butt has branded the new Premier League U23 comp as "c***".

The idea is to help youngsters gain greater exposure to the intensity of first-team football but Butt himself is not a fan of the switch.

"The under-23s league is crap," he told The Times. "If you're not in the first team by 20, you're not going to make the first team, so why have it?

"You're just stagnating people. Twenty-one was bad enough. I'd really throw all the money at the under-19 league, go alongside Europe."