Manchester United academy director Nick Cox is happy seeing more youngsters train with the senior squad.

Teenage fullback Harry Amass made the senior matchday squad for last week's draw with Liverpool.

Cox told the Manchester Evening News: "The boys go full-time here at 16. It's always been commonplace but even more so under this manager, our boys will be in and around to support first-team training.

"There are probably two versions of support he needs. So the academy provides two services: the academy has got to develop players who can play in that team and the other is to support that team to prepare to win. So recovery days, maybe when he's got a smaller group.

"We will add to that smaller group so they can have a proper, functional training session. So anyone who's not played, say there are eight remaining players, plus our ten to make a training group so they can have a high-level functional session.

"But then on a normal training day there'll still be three, four or five lads over there. Some on merit, some just because it's the right positional fit. And the challenge for the boys is to really make a name for themselves. That jump to the first team.

"Everyone asks me, 'How do you decide? When do you decide?' There's never a day, there's always this movement back."