BLOG: THE YOUNG PRETENDERS ManUtd.com's Adam Marshall wonders if the manager can find a top-class midfielder from within the ranks... It is simply impossible to ignore the quality of Ravel Morrison and Sir Alex's hint that he may be able to find Paul Scholes' heir apparent from within the youth side will surely provide another fillip to the 18-year-old from Wythenshawe. The midfield maestro played the second half of United Reserves' friendly against Curzon Ashton on Monday night and produced a couple of moments of class that would grace the Barclays Premier League. In the last seconds of the game, he jinked his way through the defence to plant an assured finish into the net to again show he has a cutting edge to go with his skills. Scholes has been impressed with Morrison in training and it's not a bold move to predict the teenager will be on course to make his senior debut before the year is out if he continues to shine at reserve level. Morrison is a different kind of player to Scholes but there are similiarities in terms of his short, intricate passing and eye for goal. Paul Pogba is another proposition altogether, combining muscle and guile to good effect. The Frenchman showed flashes of outstanding individual ability and forced one stupendous save out of home keeper Josh Ollerenshaw and he's another with virtually limitless potential if he can learn the trade of a top-flight midfielder. The third outstanding member of the engine room of the side that lifted the FA Youth Cup is Ryan Tunnicliffe, who will be playing Championship football with Peterborough at least until January. A tenacious, box-to-box midfielder, he is again a different type of animal to Scholes but, as everybody from Sir Alex down is at pains to point out, there will not be an identikit replacement for the 36-year-old. So a glimmer of hope has been given by the manager to his teenaged tyros and that could be all the encouragement they need to try and bridge the huge gap between the reserves and first team. Even if Sir Alex does find a solution in the transfer market, these youngsters will still be straining at the leash to show they're good enough to play for the champions. More: Reserves win first friendly | Reserves blog in full |