Manchester United are close to striking an agreement to sign youngster James Overy.
Overy, who is eligible to play for Australia and England, departed Australian side Perth Glory last year and his family relocated to England.
The 16-year-old has played for Newton Abbot Spurs’ first team since arriving in England, but he’s been subject to Premier League interest since catching the eye playing for Perth Glory’s senior side in a pre-season friendly against West Ham last summer when he was aged just 15.
The Manchester Evening News understands United have offered Overy a scholarship deal and the club are ‘hopeful’ the youngster will decide to join the academy.
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Overy is expected to accept the offer and will move from Devon to Manchester if he does so, turning down interest from other Premier League clubs like West Ham, Everton and Leicester.
United’s academy is regarded as best-in-class and the club’s youth scouts are tasked with finding youngsters who could have the potential to make the first team.
Scholarship deals are offered to promising young players and represent a milestone on the way to potentially being offered a professional contract, which can be signed at 17.
United’s Under-18s enjoyed a stunning season, claiming a treble and winning two of those trophies at the expense of Manchester City, and Overy could play for that age group in 2024/25.
United’s academy has enjoyed a renaissance after a period of underachieving and Nix Cox’s appointment as head of academy in December 2019 was crucial.
“I think it’s really simple,” Cox told the MEN about the improvement earlier this month. “It’s about having good players, so get your recruitment right, having good coaches that know the game and their job, and the wider staff as well who deeply care about young people.
“And then it’s alignment across all of the staff, so making sure we’re connected as a group throughout the age groups and up into the senior side with the first-team staff as well.
“Darren Fletcher was here tonight and he’s played as much of a part in developing those players as anybody. Travis Binnion I give a lot of credit to because he’s really the architect of our programme for our eldest age groups and you’ve seen Adam Lawrence with this particular group (U18s).”
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
