Manchester United recently signed a young, talented centre back from Southampton, but who exactly is Harley Emsden-James?
As is the way for many of Europe’s elite in modern football, Manchester United have become increasingly focused on future planning, which has seen them sign a multitude of different teenagers in the past year.
Many of these youngsters have been signed from abroad, whereas a few have come from other academies around England. This includes the likes of Ayden Heaven and Chido Obi Martin, who were both signed from Arsenal’s academy.
The newest recruit to United’s stock of teenage talent is Harley Emsden-James, who is a 16-year-old centre back who has made the move up north from Southampton for £1 million.
Who is Harley Emsden-James?
Emsden-James is a talented centre back who featured in The Saints’ U18 side a couple of times last season, and is deemed to have great potential.
As reported by United In Focus, the teenager is an ‘archetypal modern centre-back’ who uses a combination of technical ability and physical prowess to lead his side from the back.
Many elite Premier League teams were tracking the 2009-born star, despite him only playing 18 minutes of U18 football. This will be due to his well-rounded skillset being very hard to find in young defenders.
In terms of a professional comparison for Emsden-James, his play style resembles the likes of a Harry Maguire or a Lewis Dunk, except with far more speed in his arsenal.
United’s incredible youth pathway
As previously stated, many elite sides were sniffing around Southampton’s wonder-kid, but it was Ruben Amorim’s side who came up trumps. It is clear to see why a youngster would be sold by United’s allure.
For Esmden-James, as a natural centre-back, he will be able to see such a recent example of United’s youth system providing teenagers with a pathway into the first team.
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For example, Ayden Heaven, who signed for United in February and has since made four Premier League appearances, as well as appearances in the Europa League, FA Cup and EFL Cup.
Emsden-James will be hopeful that he can have a similar trajectory to Heaven into first-team football, whilst United will be hopeful that their ever-growing supply of youth talent can benefit the team in years to come.
Although, it has been explained that he is initially set to start his United journey by playing in the Under-18s next season.
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