Signing youngsters is a big business these days, with all the elite clubs in Europe focused hard on young players at this moment in time. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United are no different.
Their summer deals for Facundo Pellistri and Amad Diallo exemplified as much, with the Norwegian having made focusing on the youth a priority under his leadership.
With finances tight, and likely to remain so once coronavirus is firmly in the rearview mirror, the focus on the future is only likely to increase and one name to keep an eye on may be Atletico Madrid’s Marco Moreno.
AG Deportes look at the 19-year-old ace in a piece today and reveal that the Red Devils were close to moving for the player not so long ago.
They explain that the towering defender is one of the highly-regarded prospects at the Spanish club.
Strong, fast and powerful, and very skilled in ball control he is considered one to keep an eye on in the coming years, with Los Rojiblancos having already improved his deal and put in a €25m release clause.
They secured the player ahead of stern competition four seasons ago, with Villarreal, Barcelona and Real Madrid all having vied for the Spaniard’s signature at one point.
Manchester United were also interested and ‘came close’ to paying his €3m exit clause during his first year as a youth player, AG Deportes claims.
Why the club never went through with the deal is not mentioned, although that year (2016/17) saw Eric Bailly arrive from the Yellow Submarine and well as Axel Tuanzebe move up from the Under-18s so perhaps they felt there was no need.
