Ryan Giggs Names Three of the Best Young Players in the World

If anyone knows about bursting onto the scene as a youngster and taking the footballing world by storm, it's Ryan Giggs.

The Welshman first broke into Manchester United's first team as a 17-year-old, where he remained a permanent fixture until he was 40.

So, he should rightly have some opinions about the next generation of young talent, and he has named a current United star, one of their former transfer targets, and a player heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford in his main three.

Speaking to Laureus, the Wales boss named Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland as three of the finest young players on the planet. All three are currently making headlines in the same way Giggs did in 1991, with Sancho looking increasingly likely to follow in Giggs' footsteps and link up with Rashford at Old Trafford.

The two England internationals could form a longstanding partnership at United, and Giggs had special words of praise for both of them. Regarding Rashford, he said: "I’ve seen him coming through the ranks, such a talented player."

On Sancho, who has been linked with a £120m move to United, he added: "And you have Jadon Sancho at Dortmund, a young player who’s made the bold decision to leave Manchester City and go to another country at a young age.

"And he really has made a difference. His teammate as well, Erling Haaland who’s scoring lots of goals."

Rashford has previously hinted that he'd relish the chance to partner Sancho for more than just the Three Lions, saying on an Instagram Q&A: “He's like the new generation player. It's definitely exciting to watch the player he's becoming, hopefully we can all play together. That would be good."

90min revealed earlier in May that United remain intent on signing Sancho, though they no longer intend to break the £100m barrier for the winger.

While Giggs' admiration of Sancho is not surprising, should he move to United it would surely hurt the development of young Welsh prospect Dan James. The winger started the season excellently after his move from Swansea, but hasn't carried on that progression since.

James is still highly regarded by Giggs, who named him in the interview alongside other Wales internationals Ethan Ampadu and Dan Brooks. The manager reserved special praise for them, as their attitude reminds him of a younger version of himself.

He added: "It’s great when you see young players burst onto the scene and they’re just fearless. They just don’t think too much about the game and just express themselves. And you think back to when you were like that."