Bharath Rammr
Manchester United appear to have stolen a march on another youngster after moving closer to signing Daishawn Redan from Ajax, according to the reports from Daily Mail. The 15-year-old will be turning 16 in just over two months and it will provide the ability for United to bring him to their youth setup. The club appears to have secured an advantage over Ajax despite the Dutch outfit offering the player a contract. A player for the Holland under 17 team, he has been playing in a group of players older than his age largely because he is incredibly talented for his own age group.
Redan has been with Ajax since the age of eight, and the club would be deeply disappointed to lose him to United. Even though they would be receiving a training compensation fee for the player, it is unlikely to compensate for the quality that he would have provided to the first-team straightaway.
Even though he is a striker with a strong right foot, he can also play on the left wing. Thus, he is similar to Anthony Martial in many ways. Redan is not the first player to leave Ajax as a youngster for United. Timothy Fosu Mensah, who recently signed a four-year contract, and Millen Baars are some of the high profile. Other Dutch players who have joined the club include Feyenoord youngster Tahith Chong. The strong Dutch contingent at the club would have undoubtedly paved way for the Red Devils to sign the youngster.
Redan has been impressive for Ajax even from his first season. After managing 44 goals back then, he quickly managed to repeat the feat when he was playing for the under 14s in the 2013-14 campaign. Due to his excellent language skills, Redan is expected to settle in quickly.
If he manages to progress and become part of the first team in the future, the credit is likely to go towards United scout Henny De Regt. Ironically, Regt was brought to the club by former boss Louis van Gaal. The Dutchman was responsible for promoting a number of youngsters into the first-team, although many of them have disappeared once the club brought in José Mourinho as their new manager.
Fosu Mensah may have signed a new four-year contract, but he has been given only one minute of Premier League football this season. It is a sharp reduction from the 254 minutes of game time that he received under Louis van Gaal last season.
Still, United have been able to convince Redan that Old Trafford is the place to be. Aspects like a fat contract and the ability to win titles in the future would have certainly played a role in convincing the player even more.
