When Marcus Rashford won the Sir Matt Busby Award for Manchester United's Player of the Season at a club gala evening earlier this week, he took care to frame his acceptance speech in a particular way.
'I feel a huge sense of pride,' said Rashford, who has scored 30 goals in all competitions ahead of Saturday's FA Cup Final. 'I just hope that more academy players can go on and win this award and feel what I'm feeling right now on the stage.'
Rashford is the first player to have come through United's revered youth system to win the award since Ryan Giggs 25 years ago and as United go into the titanic clash with Manchester City at Wembley, his nod to the club's heritage felt especially pertinent.