Today, the young guns are in the spotlight.

Manchester United, like every other club, are always looking for young talent. Complemented by older, more experienced veterans, youngsters can be a valuable part of any team.

Younger players might not command the huge transfer fees of their more experienced colleagues. But their transfers are nonetheless important.

Here's a list of six that have been linked to Manchester United. For this slideshow, we selected players 20 years and younger.

Xherdan Shaqiri

Age: 20

Club: FC Basel

Position: Winger

Xherdan Shaqiri played well for Basel in their 2-1 Champions League victory over Manchester United. Since then, the 20-year-old winger has been attracting interest from clubs around Europe.

United's interest dates back to at least December. More recently, a potential move to Turkish club Galatasaray reportedly fell through, alerting United once again.

Nathaniel Clyne

Age: 20

Club: Crystal Palace

Position: Defender

According to Metro, Manchester United want to sign Crystal Palace defender Nathaniel Clyne as cover for Phil Jones, who suffered an injury in last weekend's win over Arsenal. Clyne, an England Under-21 international, would reportedly cost £3 million.

Crystal Palace manager Dougie Freedman reportedly said no teams have made offers for Clyne.

Jores Okore

Age: 19

Club: Nordsjaelland

Position: Defender

Jores Okore's rapid rise into the Danish national team could be replicated at the club level. The 19-year-old Okore, who is of Ivorian descent, currently plays for Danish club Nordsjaelland but is being linked to several bigger clubs, including United.

Nordsjaelland are reportedly saying they won't stop Okore if he wants a move.

Wilfried Zaha

Age: 19

Club: Crystal Palace

Position: Forward

Manchester United, Newcastle and Liverpool are reportedly interested in Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha, 19.

Zaha has represented England twice at the Under-19 level. His manager has reportedly tried to shoo away Zaha's potential suitors.

Luke Shaw

Age: 16

Position: Defender

Club: Southampton

Luke Shaw could be Southampton's latest prodigy, following in the footsteps of Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Multiple Premier League teams are reportedly lining up to sign the 16-year-old defender.

Mateo Kovacic

Age: 17

Club: Dinamo Zagreb

Position: Midfielder

For now, it appears Manchester United's interest in Dinamo Zagreb's Mateo Kovacic is over. United's board reportedly was unwilling to supply the £10 million Sir Alex Ferguson wanted to sign Kovacic.

A summer move could still be possible.