Bharath Rammr
Manchester United have a tradition of developing youngsters and over the years, the club has had numerous youth team players transformed into superstars. United may have traditionally developed players from the Manchester region, but the global game has transformed the club to look for talented young players across the world. One of the primary targets over the last couple of years has been Panos Armenakas. Aged just 18, United were keen on signing the Greek-Australian when he was still ineligible to sign a professional contract.
United’s interest in Armenakas goes back to 2013 when he was one of the finest academy players at Watford. Watford signed him from Brescia after watching his immense talent that shone at various youth tournaments across the world. Armenakas was so talented that he was training with the likes of Barcelona and AC Milan before his move to Watford. Bolton Wanderers were able to spot his talent much earlier – 2005 to be precise – and they bought him over for a two-week trial.
Armenakas represented the AC Milan U12 team in 2010 at a youth tournament and he ended up coming away with eight goals in seven appearances. As expected, clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal were all keen in signing the player before he made the move to Watford. Interest surrounding the youngster cooled a little bit, but it definitely has not gone away. United have revived interest in the player, who has now signed a professional contract with Udinese.
The move largely came about as a result of Watford and Udinese having the same ownership. His career, though, appears to have stalled at the Italian club. Even though he is just 18 years old, Armenakas can be expected to have quite a lot of first-team opportunities under his belt already. Such is the fast moving nature of the game that youngsters are often fast-tracked to start playing more than 40 games per season before they hit 20.
It has not happened in the case of Armenakas, but Arsenal and Manchester United are reportedly satisfied with the player’s performances in reserve games so much so that they are ready to take the plunge in January.
Since early days, Armenakas has been compared with former Barcelona star Ronaldinho. But this is not something new in the game. Several young players have been compared with legends only for them to falter under the heavy expectations and pressure. As Armenakas gets ready for more transfer rumours in January, it remains to be seen if the left-footed playmaker can go on and fulfil his talent.
