Leicester City manager Ruud Van Nistelrooy has named two teenagers in his squad for the FA Cup fourth round tie at Manchester United on Friday.
Jeremy Monga, 15, and 16-year-old Jake Evans, both wingers, will be on the substitutes’ bench at Old Trafford as Van Nistelrooy looks to the club’s youth system to strengthen his attacking options.
Van Nistelrooy, 48, has only been able to bring in one new player in the January transfer window — full-back Wojo Coulibaly who could make his full debut at United — and the Leicester manager said he will now look internally for solutions to his squad’s weaknesses.
Leicester sit third from bottom in the Premier League after losing eight of their last nine Premier League matches ahead of their FA Cup tie at Van Nistelrooy’s former club, where he has played, coached and managed as an interim earlier this season.
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“As Leicester City, the FA Cup is a great stage to show what you’re about and it’s also fantastic to add young players into my squad tomorrow, a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old,” Van Nistelrooy said on Thursday.
“They’re going to be part of the squad tomorrow, even going be even on the bench. These are occasions where you can give opportunities to players. The reality was (in the window) the opportunity and the restrictions, it wasn’t possible to strengthen, so the means weren’t there to strengthen.
“The loans from England were blocked. We already have two Premier League loans, and those two loans are not making the minutes that you want. If we can’t get players from the outside we will bring them up from the inside.”
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(Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
