Manchester United opted to send a host of their young stars out on loan as Erik ten Hag gets to grip with his options at Old Trafford.
His predecessors Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick chose to give youth a regular opportunity, handing several players their debuts. Ten Hag meanwhile are largely chosen to work with established members of the squad, although Alejandro Garnacho has been one of the season's success stories.
The likes of Hannibal Mejbri, Shola Shoretire and Ethan Laird - all given their first minutes for the club in recent times - have been sent out on loan further down the football pyramid to gain regular minutes.
Ten Hag, having worked at Ajax and benefitted from their sensational academy system, is no stranger to throwing youth in and is likely to do so as his tenure goes on, especially with optimism growing that the Dutchman can bring more success to the club.
We take a look at those who've been sent out temporarily this season.
Dean Henderson
The goalkeeper has been sidelined for several weeks, which led Nottingham Forest to add Keylor Navas on loan. Prior to that though the England hopeful had been a solid performer in a side fighting relegation, saving penalties from some of his international colleagues to secure notable wins against the likes of West Ham.
Alex Telles
He played 72 minutes as the LaLiga outfit were beaten on the road at Getafe, which keeps them very much in the relegation fight. Telles has made 27 appearances for the Spanish side, who have slipped below the standards expected this season, which has led the club to sack Jorge Sampaoli with their Europa League clash against United to come next month.
Amad
Amad has been a major hit at Sunderland with some spectacular moments despite the physical pressures of Championship football. Only last week Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray claimed the loanee's "body has almost shut down" such have been the demands placed upon him.
The Black Cats are in the promotion shake-up with the Ivorian scoring nine times in 32 outings. He was left on the bench for the 1-1 draw with Luton, being introduced after 55 minutes.
Ethan Laird
The defender has been nursing an injury issue for several weeks and was again unavailable for the Rs as they lost at home to Birmingham City. Laird had previously been a regular for the Championship outfit, as they sat top of the league in October, but a poor run of form has seen them embroiled in a relegation battle.
Eric Bailly
The Ivorian got a matter of seconds as he was introduced late on as Marseille overcame Reims in Ligue 1. Bailly went out in search of more football, but was dealt a blow as manager Igor Tudor opted to name midfielder Valentin Rongier as a centre-back, such is his absentee list, rather than Bailly himself, who has only started three times in Ligue 1, albeit he's been dealt injury blows.
Hannibal Mejbri
Hannibal sat on the bench for Birmingham and came on with 20 minutes remaining as they saw off QPR last weekend. The Tunisian has long been a highly-rated and has enjoyed his consistent minutes, breaking records for distance covered, with the first strike of his professional career coming as a result of an audacious free-kick against West Brom.
Shola Shoretire
The teenager got 18 minutes on Friday night as Bolton battled to a draw at League One leaders Sheffield Wednesday. Shoretire is yet to score for the Trotters having only been used sporadically by manager Ian Evatt, although he said recently his loanee is "a really talented boy, one of the most talented players that I have coached so far, and I can see that already."
Axel Tuanzebe
The centre-half only moved to the Bet365 Stadium at the end of January, having failed to make a single appearance in Manchester, but is beginning to establish himself at the heart of the defence. He played alongside Ben Wilmot as Stoke kept a clean sheet in their draw with Norwich at the weekend. Potters boss Alex Neil admits the club may look to pursue a permanent deal when the season ends.
Will Fish
Celtic secured a comprehensive win over Hibernian with Fish playing 70 minutes at the heart of defence for the Edinburgh-outfit. The Englishman has played 12 times in Scotland, the majority of which have come in recent weeks as he enjoys a consistent run in the team, scoring twice during that time.
Di'Shon Bernard
He was an unused sub as Portsmouth secured an away win at Bristol Rovers to keep up their play-off hopes in League One. Bernard has only made four appearances at Fratton Park since joining in January, two of which have come as a starter. The defender wanted a Championship move, but opted to head down to the third tier having been assured of minutes.
Alvaro Fernandez
The Spanish defender has spent the year on loan at Preston, following in the footsteps of the likes of David Beckham, who've headed to Deepdale early in their careers. Fernandez has been a regular for a side that didn't concede in their first seven league games and have one of the league's best defences with manager Ryan Lowe keen to keep him next season.
Charlie Savage
The son of former Premier League star Robbie - he headed out on loan in January and joined up with Forest Green, who are led by Duncan Ferguson. He recently scored his first ever senior goal having worked to get into the starting XI for the League One strugglers, who are destined for the drop.
Charlie McNeil
The forward headed to Newport on deadline day in January and made his debut just days later for the League Two side. He's been a regular ever since and scored for the first time in the recent win over Tranmere. McNeil had made finding minutes a priority with opportunities very much at a premium at Old Trafford.
Matej Kovar
The 22-year-old goalkeeper has spent the season back in his native Czech Republic playing for Sparta Prague, who currently sit second in the title race as they chase city rivals Slavia Prague. Kovar has made 19 appearances in all competitions with his current head coach labelling him the "future of Czech football"
