Pranav Nair
Manchester United in the fray for English starlet Josh Feeney
According to the Daily Mail, Manchester United are in the fray for England Under-16 skipper Josh Feeney.
The youngster is set to leave Fleetwood Town at the end of this month. United have already made their interest known to the League One side.
However, Premier League rivals Aston Villa are viewed as front-runners to sign the 16-year-old central defender. He was on target scored for England and captained them to a 6-0 win over Northern Ireland on Thursday.
The youngster is expected to bring in a six-figure amount to Fleetwood and is free to choose his next club from July 1. The fee involved will be settled by a tribunal if an agreement cannot be reached.
He was promoted to Fleetwood’s first-team group last season but failed to make a single appearance for the senior side. Given his age, it is prudent to let him develop physically before throwing him in at the far end.
The Red Devils have in recent windows brought in a number of top young talents from across the globe. A number of them namely Hannibal Mejbri, Amad Diallo and Anthony Elanga have all even made their first-team bows.
While they are far from being regulars, the experience of playing alongside the senior side will aid in their development. Adding Feeney to the ranks will give the youngster an excellent opportunity to continue his development at one of the best clubs in the world.
Whether we can beat off interest from other teams to land him remains to be seen.
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Talented young central defenders coming through are quite uncommon. Feeney, if he develops well, could emerge as a key player for years to come. While that may still be some time away, bringing in the youngster this summer will be well worth the risk.
