Gore is tough enough for League One
Former Manchester United defender David May firmly believes Dan Gore has the character and ability to impress during his loan move at Port Vale.
The League One club won the race for the 19-year-old's services for the remainder of the campaign, offering him a chance of first-team football.
After two senior appearances for his boyhood club, against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup and Aston Villa on Boxing Day in the Premier League, this will provide another test for the talented youngster.
May, who played in the League Cup game at Vale Park in 1994, when Paul Scholes marked his debut with both goals in a 2-1 victory for Alex Ferguson's men, has no doubts that Gore can handle the physical nature of third-tier football.
"He's a tough kid," the two-time Premier League winner said on the new episode of The Debate. "I'm sure he'll be alright in that arena but I think it's vitally important to get out there.
"You can play Under-21s or Under-23s but it's not the same ferocity in the games, when you're playing against people who are playing to pay their mortgages and people who want to get up the ladder.
"Yes, he's taken a step back, well a step sideways, for him," added May. "But it's what he'll learn off the senior pros as well, training day in and day out with them, and what it's really like to play down there.
"It is tough but he'll thrive off it because he's a good player. He'll find times in games where probably, because of his reputation of being a Manchester United player, it will count against him as well and people will want to kick him. It's part and parcel of the game but he'll be absolutely fine there.
"It's vitally important these lads get out now. That's the future of Manchester United. Come back to Old Trafford with that knowledge and that understanding of how the game is played and be better players for it."
Gore could make his debut against table-topping Portsmouth in Vale's next game, at home, on Saturday afternoon.