Manchester United close to securing “absolutely unreal” teenage star, he’s visited the club

Manchester United are close to securing an “absolutely unreal” teenage star who recently visited the club and had a trial with the Carrington Academy.

Rúben Amorim is looking to strengthen Manchester United’s first team, but the club are also prioritising the recruitment of elite young talent to build for the future.

In the summer 2024 transfer window, United secured the signings of Chido Obi and Sekou Kone, two highly rated prospects with significant potential, and brought in teenage centre-back Ayden Heaven in January.

With financial prudence a key consideration, investing in Academy players offers a smart, sustainable approach. The club’s strategy is to develop these talents internally, preparing them to make the step up to the first team in the coming years.

There is genuine excitement that these young players, along with others brought in, will gradually integrate into Amorim’s squad and play a key role in the club’s long-term success.

United close to securing Glen Ilunga

United’s defence has looked very shaky over the last few months, and it’s expected that the club will need to sign a series of new defenders in the next two seasons as Victor Lindelöf, Jonny Evans, and Harry Maguire will all depart the club this summer or next.

Therefore, the club have been looking to secure young defensive talents in the last few months, and they recently had another on trial.

According to a report from the Daily Mail, the club’s coaches recently wanted to take a look at U5 centre-back Glen Ilunga after he caught the eye while performing at Manchester-based AR Elite Academy.

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United then took this a step further and offered the player a trial and the Irish defender has spent the last week at the club, no doubt having visited the training facilities during this trial.

Ilunga is “absolutely mental”

The Daily Mail report states that those in the know claim Ilunga is “a player dominant in the air but also a centre-back who is comfortable on the ball with a strong passing game,” and founder of AR Elite Academy, Abdelghany Ramadan, has high hopes for the player.

“The kid is absolutely unreal,” Ramadan told UnitedInFocus. “I promise you [watch out] in three years’ time. If he doesn’t make it I’m quitting football, that’s how much I rate him. We’ve had a lot of players come through our academy and honestly, remember this call…”

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Further, Ramadan told a story of how Ilunga played against the U18s of Hull City and the Hull academy staff offered him a scholar contract there and then as his performance was so impressive.

“He played against Hull City U18s for AR Elite around a week ago and Hull City staff literally pulled out pen and paper after that game and said ‘We’ll offer him a pre-scholar deal right now, what do you want? We’ll give you anything you want’.

“We had to tell them we’d given our word to United, we can’t do that. I work with a lot of professionals one-to-one and I promise you the kid is unreal.”

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