Manchester United have overhauled their recruitment department and that is now set to pay dividends as the Red Devils close in on signing Slovakian wonderkid Samuel Lusale
Manchester United are closing on the signing of Slovakian wonderkid Samuel Lusale.
Lusale is currently on the books of Crystal Palace, having joined the Eagles three years ago. The 16-year-old impressed enough for Palace’s Under-18s side to earn a call-up to the Under-17s Euros in May.
He played in all three group games at the tournament, though Slovakia finished bottom of their group. Lusale mainly played in the Under-18s Premier League, helping Palace to finish sixth in the South Division.
His performances have clearly caught the eye of United, who are now working hard to bring him to Old Trafford. The teenager is already represented by Roc Nation, the talent group founded by Jay-Z.
According to the Manchester Evening News, United are ‘close’ to adding Lusale to their youth team. English teams are restricted in their recruitment at academy level by Brexit regulations which prohibit them from signing players under the age of 18 from overseas clubs.
It appears that United will have a wonderkid on their hands if they do complete the deal for Lusale. Roc Nation’s Global director of football recruitment, Nathan Campbell: “Samuel is a very exciting attacking player who has an abundance of ability.
“He’s a late developer, having come into the academy system at a later age, but it’s so exciting to contemplate the incredible heights he can reach as he matures both physically and technically.”
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Signing Lusale would certainly fit into controlling co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s vision for United’s future recruitment. Back in February, he made it clear that the academy would be a key part of his plans for the future.
“Recruitment in the modern game is critical. Manchester United have clearly spent a lot of money but they haven’t done as well as some other clubs. So when I was talking about being best in class in all aspects of football, recruitment is clearly top of the list,” he said.
“We’re probably still debating what precisely is the style of football we want to play. If you look at Manchester City, they know precisely what the style of football is they want to play and all 11 teams at the club play the same formula.
“We need to do that, but I think in terms of the nature of the players, you want Manchester United types of players: attacking football, exciting football, bringing the youth through. You want players that are committed.
“You want players that play 90 minutes — those are the types of players you want playing for Manchester United. The academy is really, really important for us. It’s probably the most successful academy in football in terms of number of players that have come through.
“We’ll decide that style, plus the CEO, sporting director, probably the recruitment guys, what the style of football is and that will be the Manchester United style of football, and the coach will have to play that style. In modern football, you need to decide what’s your path and stick to your path.”
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