Louis van Gaal says Adnan Januzaj's talent warrants a "second chance" at Manchester United.
The Belgium forward is back at Old Trafford after his season-long loan to Borussia Dortmund was cut short.
Januzaj did not start a single Bundesliga game during his time in Germany, but Van Gaal is not ready to give up on a 20-year-old who went to the World Cup as a teenager after his breakthrough season at United in 2013/14.
Speaking about Januzaj and Will Keane, who was recalled from his loan spell at Preston earlier this week, Van Gaal said: "They are coming to us to ask for a second chance.
"Manchester United is a club that takes care of all our players and I think it's a very good habit to have that.
"I believe in the talent of Adnan Januzaj. I said it would be very difficult to play matches in Dortmund and unfortunately I was right."
Januzaj's route back to first-team contention is through the U21 side, and Van Gaal hopes to field the player against Reading early next week.
"We have to wait and see if his papers are right," the manager said. "If he can play Monday in the second team he shall play in the second team."