Sonny Aljofree, a young player for Manchester United, has been called up to the first team's Carrington training session before their Premier League opener against Brighton on Sunday afternoon (2pm).

Erik ten Hag, who was sworn in to permanently replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, will take the reins for his first competitive game as manager. Given that his selection was consistent during preseason friendlies in Thailand and Australia, his matchday squad is unlikely to contain many surprises.

However, there is sincere hope that Ten Hag will continue to believe in the younger players, and a number of promising academy graduates have played this summer. On tour for United, Charlie Savage and Zidane Iqbal made an impression.

Closer to home, young players from the age-group ranks have also been given priceless opportunities to compete with the United team's star players, including returning superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, and other big names. On Thursday morning at Carrington, Aljofree had his big chance to do just that.

Recently appointed manager Ten Hag continues to perfect his preparations for a first taste of the Premier League while keeping all of his attention on Brighton. Aljofree, 17, was pictured at the session and was naturally excited by the opportunity, uploading images to his Instagram profile.

Standing alongside Donny van de Beek and England defender Luke Shaw in those pictures, Aljofree added a short caption. It read, "always learning" and featured a fingers-crossed emoji.

Born in Plymouth, the promising centre-back was part of the Academy system last season and came off the bench during the historic FA Youth Cup triumph. Aljofree made 18 appearances in Premier League 2 last campaign and also played a UEFA Youth League game against Young Boys.