Manchester United Transfers: 5 Academy Players Who Can Be the Next Paul Scholes

Can Manchester United's midfield dilemma be solved by a player who is already within the ranks at the club?

The search for Paul Scholes' successor has gone beyond the four corners of the earth. Frankly, it looks beyond the reach of even Google!

But Manchester United's answer to this highly unsettling problem could be lying just about six miles south-west of Old Trafford, at their Carrington training base.

Sir Alex Ferguson has already hinted that he might look into his youth team and promote a few players in a bid to strengthen the squad.

Although Scholes is next to irreplaceable, Ferguson is confident that United's youth system will come up with the answers soon enough and help him with this impasse.

He told Manchester United's official website, "We try to look ahead, we try to make sure we have an influx of young players coming through to replace the older players."

He added, "As they often do at Manchester United, maybe somebody will emerge out of the youth team or one of the young players emerges, and then we carry on."

Last year, Paul McGuinness' young Reds lifted the FA Youth Cup for the tenth time in the club's history. This current crop of youngsters has already drawn comparison with Fergie's Fledglings, who lifted the same cup back in 1992.

There are also some ex-Academy players who have already been promoted to Warren Joyce's Reserves team that have impressed lately.

Some of these players went out on loan last season and have returned with some invaluable first-team experience that will definitely help their transition into the Manchester United first team.

So, instead of spending millions of pounds on already established players with no resale value, here's a list of five players who have come through Manchester United's famed academy and can potentially fill in the void left by Scholesy.

5. Danny Drinkwater

Danny Drinkwater has been with Manchester United since he was 10 years old.

He is a player with a very good technical ability and shows a lot of composure with the ball. He displays a good range of passing—long and short. He also has good tackling skills in spite of his rather sleight stature.

Drinkwater was part of Paul McGuinness' youth team in 2007-08, where he thrived in the 4-5-1 formation. He linked up well in the midfield with Tom Cleverley and earned a promotion to the Reserves side the following season.

After helping Manchester United win two successive Lancashire Senior Cups, Lee Clark signed Drinkwater on a season-long loan at Huddersfield Town at the start of the 2009-10 campaign.

Drinkwater then spent half a season each at Cardiff City and Watford in 2010-11, where he got valuable first-team experience. He has also represented England at the U-21 level.

Drinkwater has a lot of potential in terms of his passing vision, but he's not the strongest man on the field. He needs to work on his pace and energy to survive in the highly physical Premier League. Once he's done that, I'm sure he'll be ready to step into the Manchester United first team. 

4. Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba has been described as a cross between Patrick Vieira and Abou Diaby because of his raw strength and dribbling skills.

Pogba is a dynamic midfielder and, like Scholesy, has a reputation of scoring screamers. Look up "Paul Pogba vs Portsmouth" on Youtube to see how "ridiculously good" the boy is.

Pogba was at the center of a major poaching row when he signed for Manchester United from Le Havre as a 16-year-old in 2009. But his performances for the youth team since have justified why United were so desperate to sign the boy.

Pogba finished the 2009-10 season with seven goals from 19 starts for the youth team, which is impressive because he is technically a defensive midfielder.

Pogba is silky with the ball and graceful with possession. His shooting doesn't lie far behind and can produce a scorcher when required.

His heroics in the midfield played an instrumental part in United winning the Youth Cup last season.

There is some room for improvement, but I wouldn't be surprised if Pogba finds himself playing in the FA Cup and the Carling Cup next season.

3. Ryan Tunnicliffe

Ryan Tunnicliffe is a Manchester-born-and-bred starlet who was discovered by United scouts at the age of nine.

He made excellent progress at Carrington before bursting onto the U-18 scene in the 2008-09 campaign, making 18 appearances for Paul McGuinness' youth team.

Essentially a defensive midfielder, Tunnicliffe has played at a number of positions during his time at United. He has also been used as a right back when required. 

However, like Scholes, his strongest position is in the heart of the midfield.

Tunnicliffe, who has also been compared to Roy Keane, is an athletic and pacy midfielder with an excellent range of passing. He likes to keep his passing simple, but he can conjure up the long, accurate pass when needed.

He is a technically sound player and, unlike Scholesy, a very good tackler—tough and courageous.

He also has one of the most robust engines among the young players and can keep going tirelessly for 90 minutes.

Tunnicliffe was named the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year for 2011 and is ready to step into the Manchester United first team.

However, Sir Alex has recently loaned him out to his son Darren Ferguson's Peterborough for six months.

2. Ravel Morrison

Ravel Morrison has been talked up as the most naturally talented footballer to come out of Manchester United's youth program since Paul Scholes.

The 18-year-old from Wythenshawe can play in wide positions, in the center of the midfield or even just behind the striker—in a role similar to Wayne Rooney's.

Morrison is technically gifted and would bring the unpredictability factor that is lacking so much in the Manchester United midfield. He would add fluency to the attack and would be an ideal feeder to someone like Chicharito.

Morrison is an all-rounded player. He's got balance, control, vision, speed and a very good eye for a goal, which was evident after watching his Youth Cup performance.

Morrison was one of the stars of United's Youth Cup triumph and scored a brace in the second leg of the final against Sheffield United, along with a wonder goal against Chelsea in the semifinal.

However, his most memorable goal, in my opinion, came when he scissor-kicked United to the lead after being down 2-0 against Liverpool.

He is an exceptional talent and has the potential to be a world-class player for United in the future.

After making regular appearances for the Reserves last season, first team football beckons Morrison in the 2011-12 season.

1. Tom Cleverley

Tom Cleverley is the closest to United's ginger-haired legend when it comes to his ability to dictate play with his fabulous passing range, and desire to go forward and score goals.

After beginning to play his football at Bradford, Cleverley joined United when he was 15. Since then, he has quickly risen through the club's youth system and earned regular call-ups to the Reserves team.

Cleverley got his first tryst with the senior team during the 2008-09 preseason campaign, where he scored his first goal for United and landed the No. 35 jersey.

After making a few Carling Cup appearances the following season, Cleverley was called up by Leicester City in January on loan for the rest of the season.

Cleverley scored his first goal at Old Trafford during the 2009-10 preseason match against Valencia but was soon loaned off to Watford.

There, he scored 11 goals in 33 games for Malky Mackay's struggling side, which earned him their Player of the Season gong. He could have done more for the Hornets, but a knee injury cut short his stay by a month.

Cleverley did not let the setback affect him and joined United on their preseason tour to the United States last year. He scored twice for the Red Devils, the most impressive of the goals coming against the MLS All-Stars when he swooped the ball over a defender in the box and calmly slotted home past the keeper.

Cleverley looked set to earn a call-up to the first team, but was loaned off to Premier League side Wigan on the last day of the transfer window.

Cleverley didn't exactly set the Premier League on fire during his stay at the DW Stadium, but this was partially because he was deployed on a more wider role by Roberto Martinez.

However, the Latics' first team coach, Graham Barrow, has talked up the youngster and predicted a bright future for him at Old Trafford.

Barrow told the Manchester Evening News, "Tom is a very talented young man who is heading for the top. I fully expect him to make his mark at Old Trafford and challenge to take up the Paul Scholes role."

Although Cleverley didn't exactly impress his doubters at the Euro U-21 Championships, I'm sure the youngster will do pretty well when he plays alongside the likes of Antonio Valencia, Nani, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney.

Cleverley needs to be used in his preferred position as a central attacking midfielder, only then will his true potential be tapped. 

It will be interesting to see if Sir Alex keeps him at Old Trafford this season, or loans him off to a Premier League side for more first-team experience.

Honorable Mentions

An honorable mention would also go to the following players:

Oliver Norwood:

Oliver Norwood is a player with an innate ability to change games.

The 20-year-old possesses fantastic vision and passing range. He will add creativity to the center of the midfield.

Norwood is also a dead-ball specialist and is known to do remarkable things with the ball from free kicks.

Larnell Cole:

Larnell Cole is a Manchester-born, 18-year-old attacking midfielder who also has an ability to impact games on his own.

Although he isn't the bulkiest of midfielders, Cole is nimble, skillful and can adapt to a number of different positions.

So, can Manchester United keep their cash away and depend on one or more of these youngsters to step up to the porch next season?

Feel free to shoot your views in the comments section below...