Will Keane won the Youth Cup with Pogba & Lingard but Utd haven't won it since

Former Manchester United striker Will Keane didn't think so at the time but his hat-trick in the 2011 FA Youth Cup semi-final win against Chelsea proved the end of an era, and the start of a major power shift in English football.

United, the club of the Busby Babes and Class of 92, went on to win the Youth Cup that year for a record 10th time with Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Ravel Morrison supplying the ammunition for Keane, who was heavily tipped to go all the way at Old Trafford.

Yet they haven't lifted the trophy since as Sir Alex Ferguson retired and Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho spent heavily on ready-made internationals for their first-team.

Meanwhile at Chelsea, owner Roman Abramovich reacted to the United trouncing by accelerating improvements at the Chelsea academy.

They won the FA Youth Cup five times in a row between 2014 and 2018 – the first club to achieve that since the 1950s Busby Babes.

Homegrown talents Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi will face United in the Premier League tomorrow night and been part of England's Euro 2020 preparations.

'The change in fortunes has been a shock,' admits Keane, now at League One Ipswich.

'I joined United at the age of 10 and the importance of the FA Youth Cup was drummed into us.

'Our manager Paul McGuinness would hold team meetings where he'd go through all the great United youth sides. Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Alex Ferguson and a lot of first-team players would come to our matches.

'There was a particular buzz about our group in particular because we'd been born in 1992 and 1993.

'It was like we were being asked to carry the baton and if you asked any of the lads now, winning the youth cup is one of the highlights of our career. It was the first time you'd put on a United club suit with the coat of arms.

'Paul (Pogba) was a top all-round player, physical and technical, but Ravel Morrison was considered just as good. He was so talented with the ball.

'Jesse Lingard was in the team. Larnell Cole and Ryan Tunnicliffe who later joined Fulham. I don't even know if Larnell is playing.

'I just wouldn't have guessed United would stop winning FA Youth Cups because it was considered so important to the club back then.'

Instead, Chelsea have dominated the modern era and at last their talent pool are now getting the chance in the Premier League.

Andreas Christensen, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Dominic Solanke were part of the Chelsea team that started five-in-a-row. Abraham, Mount and Fikayo Tomori were part of the team that thrashed United 5-1 en route to winning the trophy in 2016.

Hudson-Odoi and Reece James were in the 2018 version that thumped Arsenal 7-1 on aggregate in the final.

'United have still been able to produce the odd individual like Marcus (Rashford), Mason (Greenwood) or Adnan Januzaj but the strength in depth seemed to stop. I think it's something the club are trying to get back.

'A club like United don't want to let Chelsea or Manchester City win the FA Youth Cup all the time because sooner or later some of those young players will step up to the Premier League and challenge for those trophies too.'

As for Keane, he followed up his Chelsea treble by scoring twice in the final against Sheffield United, whose main centre-half was Harry Maguire.

A terrible run with injuries, initiated by tearing his ACL on England under-19s duty, restricted his opportunities at Old Trafford but he's not reviving his career in Suffolk with Ipswich fighting for promotion this season.