Paul McGuinness’s juniors travel to Bramall Lane for Tuesday night's first leg aiming to emulate United's class of ’92, which included Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Gary Neville, by winning the tournament for the first time since 2003.
Manchester-born midfielder Morrison is rated by Ferguson as one of the brightest talents to emerge during his 25-year reign at Old Trafford and, although the 18 year-old has endured a troubled campaign off the pitch, the United manager claims he and fellow midfielder Tunnicliffe offer glimpses of the club’s future. “There are several players in the present youth team who are doing really well,” Ferguson said.
“The likes of Ryan Tunnicliffe and Ravel Morrison, you see some of them doing very, very well, so we’re always going to put an emphasis on young players coming through from the youth team. That will always be the case. “We’ve got a good nucleus of young players in the club which gives you the foundation to be able to protect the future and know it’s going to be alright.”
Sheffield United, relegated from the Championship earlier this month, have sold 30,000 tickets for Tuesday night's game. Youth team coach John Pemberton said: “They are not all Blades fans, but they are all football supporters and Sheffield people who want to see fellow Sheffield people do well. "They are fanatical when it comes down to supporting anything, they always have been. “Manchester United have brilliant players and that’s why, with our budget, it is particularly good what we have achieved without any big stars,” he added. “Ravel Morrison for one is a great player, I have seen him a few times.”