DANNY Welbeck proved last season that the local boy made good story is still a best seller at Old Trafford.

United supporters love a home-produced player to make the breakthrough.

It has been a passion for Reds fans since the Busby Babes broke the mould in the 50s. Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Geoff Bent, Albert Scanlon, John Doherty, Dennis Viollet and Wilf McGuinness were all born in Manchester or Salford.

They underpinned a Babes side brought together from the best in the UK and Ireland.

Now Sir Alex Ferguson's scouting system has spread to all four corners of the globe.

United still compete at the top end of the transfer market, breaking the club transfer record last August for £30.75m Dimitar Berbatov, and last season they were going hard for the quintuple.

But Fergie still finds room to promote the kids who've been developed in the academy system or discovered by staff in Brian McClair's department.

It was perfectly illustrated by the fact that for part of the Wembley FA Cup semi final against Everton, Berbatov partnered Welbeck.

It was also testimony to the quality coming through the ranks that the United boss was proud to declare towards the climax of the campaign that eight players from the academy had been given debuts during the course of the season.

Grounding

Those eight, later to become nine when Ritchie De Laet (whose grounding was at United's Royal Antwerp feeder club) made his debut at Hull on the final day of the season, showed how United scour the world to keep the Reds at the forefront.

There was Welbeck from Longsight, Ben Amos from Macclesfield, Richard Eckersley from Salford and James Chester from Warrington.

From outside of England were Rafael and Fabio da Silva and Rodrigo Possebon from Brazil and Federico Macheda from Italy.

This summer United have just brought in Irishman Sean McGinty from Charlton and Alberto Maccacci from Empoli.

But even though the academy plunders Europe and South America these days United's academy director Brian McClair says there will always be room for a Welbeck and members of the Class of '92 like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt.

"It is nice to see that young players who have passed through the academy are good enough to play for Manchester United," Brian told M.E.N. Sport.

"It would be lovely to have 22 home-grown English players in the first team squad. But that is not going to happen. It is great to have a few get to the front door and then get in.

"The support wants to have local boys and that's what we try to do. There will never be a situation where all your academy players are imports and there are no locals because the way FIFA and UEFA are looking at the game.

"They are making sure you have so many home produced players. You have to have your locals and home produced. That's how it should be.

"I couldn't see Manchester United surviving without the academy anyway because that has been a part of the fabric of the club. That is part of the enjoyment of the success of the club.

"I couldn't see a squad of 22 players all from external transfers and I couldn't see people being happy with that either.

"I don't think it is harder for the Manchester boys. But the fact is there are not as many local boys playing football anymore as there were 20 years ago. It is about numbers.

Majority

"Why are there so many Brazilians playing all over the world? A lot are still playing football because if you ask the majority of them and the Argentineans they are coming from the favelas, the poor areas, so football is their only way out."

In their pursuit of the best locals and best world young talent McClair believes United have one major factor in their favour.

"We are blessed here for various reasons but one huge plus is that we have the top man in Sir Alex Ferguson who has invested time and interest in youth development,"

Brian added. "It has helped the club flourish. We appreciate what we have. The club have also invested in the infra-structure. The facilities are a massive benefit to us. The club continue to look to invest in it. You can always get better in things."

Ferguson's track record for promoting quality home-produced talent has seen seven players developed down the years by the Reds youth system on duty in the last two Champions League finals against Chelsea and Barcelona.

However, it is six years since the Reds won the prestigious FA Youth Cup. United have won the trophy a record nine times and last lifted it in 2003.

But McClair says, "We prepare the boys as well as we can every year to win the FA Youth Cup but it is not our priority.

"It is great to be involved in, it is great to get to the final and it is great to win it but that is not really our job. We don't judge ourselves by that.

"We had a group of players a few years ago who lost to Stoke City in the FA Youth Cup it contained Jonny Evans, Ryan Shawcross, Gerard Pique, Giuseppe Rossi, Fraizer Campbell and Darron Gibson!

"Not a bad group! But they lost. How does that happen? But you do lose in cup football. That's what it is like. It happens time and again. So we don't judge on that.

"We just want to continually produce players for United's first team. We are just getting on with doing the best job we possibly can all the way through from the development centre and scouting the five and six year olds all the way up to the Under 18s.

"Are we in a healthy position? We don't look at where we are in terms of the best ever or the worst ever. People are just getting on working very hard and getting the best for Manchester United."

Which United youngsters do you think will make it? Have your say.