Five things spotted in Manchester United training as seven youngsters involved before Brentford

Manchester United must secure a positive result against Brentford this weekend.

United currently sit in 14th position in the Premier League table and Erik ten Hag has overseen the worst start to a Premier League campaign in the club's history.

The Reds return to action on Saturday following the international break and Ten Hag survived that two-week break, despite many expecting him to be sacked by Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

United trained at Carrington ahead of facing Brentford and Ten Hag will take another session on Friday while also speaking to journalists at his pre-match press conference.

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Here are some of the highlights from the session...

Seven youngsters included

United regularly draft youngsters from the academy when extra numbers are required in first-team training sessions and seven were spotted working with the main group on Thursday.

It's understood Under-21 manager Travis Binnion advises the first-team coaching staff on which youngsters should make the step up and Darren Fletcher is also an important conduit.

Ruben Curley, Tyler Fredricson, Finley McAllister, Malachi Sharpe, Ashton Missin, Louis Jackson and Sam Mather were pictured in training and contributed to the Brentford preparations.

Fredricson might be the most interesting academy product to have taken part. He was named on the bench against Real Sociedad in September 2022 and was seen as one of the leading talents in his age group until spending 16 months on the sidelines with a serious injury.

Hojlund involved

The Danish press claimed Rasmus Hojlund missed a training session on Sunday as a precaution, but he trained with his international teammates on Monday, which eased concerns.

Hojlund then started for Denmark against Switzerland on Tuesday night and lasted 53 minutes before being substituted. "You have to remember that he has only just come back," said Denmark's manager. "This was only his third start this season, and he has basically missed an entire pre-season."

The 21-year-old striker made his first start of the campaign in the 3-3 draw with FC Porto before the international break and his national team manager's warning shows where his fitness is.

After recovering from a hamstring injury that he sustained in pre-season, Hojlund is still clearly getting back up to speed and it could be a few weeks before he's at peak fitness again.

Mazraoui returns after operation

Noussair Mazraoui was substituted at half-time in the draw with Aston Villa and subsequently underwent a minor precautionary corrective procedure after experiencing palpitations.

United said Mazraoui was due to be out for a few weeks and sources stressed his condition was not an emergency, but it was still a surprise to see him back in training on Thursday.

Following the session, a club source said that it was uncertain whether he would be available to face Brentford, however, it is clearly a huge positive that Mazraoui was in training again.

Mazraoui has started every league game at right-back this season and should be back sooner than anticipated.

Malacia stepping up his work

United staff are feeling positive about Tyrell Malacia's recent progress in his comeback from injury and there's hope he should return to a matchday squad in the near future.

Malacia has been on a long road to recovery, but it's understood he is now closer to a return to action than ever before and club staff are feeling upbeat about his recent progress.

He is looking sharper with each training session, but United will continue to be cautious with him as they ease him back into full-intensity training, with a source conceding they must be realistic about when he will be considered fit enough to play a competitive fixture again.

The new goalkeeper coach

Goalkeepers are known to be a tight-knit bunch and Jelle ten Rouwelaar, Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir were pictured with wide smiles in training at Carrington on Thursday afternoon.

Bayindir hasn't had much to smile about since joining the club - he has made just two appearances for United - but he's understood to have continued to be a positive influence in training.

United freshened up Ten Hag's backroom staff in the summer and Ten Rouwelaar was brought in. The 43-year-old had been Vincent Kompany's goalkeeping coach for the previous four years, first at Anderlecht and then at Burnley, but briefly joined Ajax this summer before joining United.

He signed a contract with Ajax before United showed an interest, and United were forced to pay €100,000 in compensation to prise him out of a job he had barely even started.