Jose Mourinho: The list of players the Manchester United manager says he has promoted from the academy

The Portuguese has been branded as a manager who leans on high-profile signings

Mourinho claims to have captured three of the four players he wants to sign this summer (Getty)

New Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho launched a staunch defence of his record of bringing through players from youth systems during his first press conference at Old Trafford.

The Portuguese has been branded as a manager who prefers to spend money on high-profile, ready-made signings instead of giving youth a chance to shine.

Mourinho was clearly irked by this suggestion, producing a list of 49 players who, he says, he has directly helped to become full professionals during his time in the game.

He said: "How many minutes do we have? I am ready for this. How many players in the academy do we have? Do you know? 49. I have promoted 49 players from the academy.

"Sometimes you promote players because you don't have a chance. You have so many injuries you don't have a choice. That is one factor. The second factor is when you are not playing for big targets.

"My record for injuries is very, very low. From the Champions League studies, my teams had the least injuries in the whole of Europe.

"In every season I have managed, I was fighting for the title. It was never a position of stability. I brought through 49. We are talking about big players, players in the Euros. One lie repeated many times, sometimes looks true but it will always be a lie."

The list in full...

Academy players and/or U21 players that made their debut under Mourinho - there is actually more than 49.

Benfica

Diego Luis

Geraldo Alves

Leiria

Laran Jeiro

Joao Paulo

Porto

Carlos Alberton

Bruno Morais

Pedro Oliveira

Reinaldo

Joca

Hugo Luz

Chelsea

First spell

Roben (U21)

Lasana Diarra (U21)

Mikel Obi (U21)

Hutchinson

Smith

Woods

Grant

Sahar

Watt

Pidgeley

Marko Arnautovic celebrates one of many goals for Stoke (Getty)

Inter

Santon (now at Inter)

Arnautovic (U21) (Stoke)

Stevanovic (Red Star)

Balotelli (LIverpool)

Caldirola (Bremen)

Donati (Leverkusen)

Rene Khrin (Granada)

Real Madrid

Varane (U21) (Real Madrid)

Morata (Real Madrid)

Casemiro (Real Madrid)

Nacho (Real Madrid)

Jese (Real Madrid)

Joselu (Stoke)

Tomas Mejias (Middlesbrough)

Omar Mascarel (Derby)

Fabinho (Monaco)

Pedro Mendes (Parma)

Jose Rodriguez (Galatasaray)

Alvaro Morata is among the biggest names in football (Getty)

Cherishev (Valencia)

Sarabia (Getafe)

Juan Carlos (Malaga)

Diego Lorente (Vallecano)

Alex Fernandez (Espanol)

Mateos (Ferenvaros)

Jesus (Levante)

Adan (Real Betis)

Fernando Pacheco Flores (Alaves)

Jorge Casado (Ponferradina)

Kurt Zouma was invaluable for Chelsea before his injury (Getty)

Chelsea

Second spell

Zouma (U21)

Baker

Salanke

Swift

Loftus Cheek

Cristensen

Traore