“A joke” – Former academy star names five best players he trained with at Manchester United

Former Manchester United academy player Demetri Mitchell has said that Marcus Rashford was ‘a joke’ in training as he named the five best players he played with at Old Trafford.

Mitchell, who officially left United in the summer of 2020, spent seven years at the club and now currently is contracted with League One side Exeter City.

The left-sided player began his career in the academy at Carrington as a winger before moving back to left-back, although he has been played further up the pitch throughout his post-United career.

Jose Mourinho gifted the then-defender his debut in United’s Premier League encounter against Crystal Palace in 2017, where a host of different young talent was on show.

Whilst he would not go onto make any more appearances for The Reds, Mitchell has opened up on the standout players at the club during his time with the first-team.

Asked who the best players are that he’s played with on social media platform X, Mitchell responded: “Pogba, Rooney, Zlatan (Ibrahimovic)… Marcus (Rashford) was a joke in training as well as (Adnan) Januzaj.”

Rashford and Mitchell both started their youth careers at Fletcher Moss Rangers; a club with a well-known reputation for their players emerging into professional set-ups. Danny Welbeck and Jesse Lingard also spent their early years there.

Mitchell also named his former teammate as one of the top five wingers in the Premier League, alongside Mohammad Salah, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, and Kaoru Mitoma.

Wayne Rooney, despite being in the latter years of his career at the time, would’ve been an inspiration for Mitchell and other talents within the club.

Ibrahimovic was not only known for his incredible ability on the pitch – scoring 28 goals in his first season at United – but also for his humourous personality off of it.