Former Blackpool midfielder appointed coach of Manchester United's Under-23 side

Wood, who came through the youth ranks at United, will work with Quinton Fortune as part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's restructuring of the club's coaching setup.

The 36-year-old played three games for Pool on loan from the Red Devils in 2006, and played another four games after making his move permanent.

Wood, a former Manchester United youth-team player, returned to the club as a coach in 2014.

Since then he has coached across United's Under-16s, Under-18s and Under-23s during his time at the club.

“It is a real honour to be appointed as lead coach for the Under-23s," Wood said.

"I have learnt a lot about this age group over the last few seasons.

"This club has been a major part of my life since I joined the academy in 1999 and I am delighted to continue that relationship in this role.

”The academy has a fantastic record of developing players ready to play for Manchester United and the opportunity to have a role in continuing that tradition is extremely exciting.“

Another of Solskjaer's former teammates Nicky Butt will be undertaking increased involvement in the team's overall programme.

Butt added: “The academy is completely focused on producing well-rounded players for our first team and we believe that this new structure provides the perfect platform to achieve this aim.

”Myself, Neil and Quinton have long-standing connections with Manchester United and bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to our roles that we will pass on to the young players.

"It is such an exciting time for the academy with Ole as first-team manager, who truly believes in the development of homegrown talent.

"It was a great source of pride that three academy graduates made their first-team debuts last season. As a group, we will now look to build on this success.”