Five youth players Manchester United let get away

With the recent hubbub surrounding the Adnan Januzaj contract issue, we take a look at some other very promising youngsters that Manchester United have let get away in the past few years.

Manchester United were once the pride of England not only for the trophies they were winning, but also due to the contributions made by United’s youth academy to the England national team. The illustrious “Fergie’s Fledglings” were almost all English, with the sole exception of Ryan Giggs, who is Welsh. Paul Scholes, Gary and Phil Neville, David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Terry Cooke were all English; and though Cooke never featured for the English senior side, he was seen as a good prospect during his Under-21 days.

But United then saw their impact wane with respect to the youth prospects that made it out. While it is true that Wes Brown, John O’Shea, Darren Fletcher, Ryan Shawcross, Giuseppe Rossi, Ron-Robert Ziegler and a host of other players made it out of United’s youth teams, United saw themselves become overshadowed by teams such as West Ham United and Southampton, who were producing quality youth players.

So let’s get to the 5 best young talents that United lost in the past few years.

5) Magnus Wolff Eikrem

Magnus Wolff Eikrem

When Magnus Wolff Eikrem made the move from Molde to Manchester United in 2006 on his 16th birthday, there was much expectation to see what kind of player United had landed. He was drafted into the Under-18 side immediately, and soon became a regular starter. Under Paul McGuinness’ tutelage, Eikrem grew steadily but surely into an amazing prospect. He was given the captain’s armband in United’s run to the final of the 2007 Milk Cup, where they eventually lost out to Fluminense. Incidentally, it was a young Danny Welbeck who scored United’s only goal in the 2-1 loss. After he was promoted to the reserves, Eikrem helped United to a second placed finish in the Premier Reserve League of the 2008-09 season. Eikrem contributed some fine performances, and it seemed then that it was just a matter of time before he would be pushed into the senior team. That chance came in the 2009-10 season, when he was given the #42 shirt for the League Cup match against Wolverhampton Rovers. Eikrem was as versatile as he was talented, and could play in any position in midfield, though he was primarily an attacking midfielder. In the 2011 Winter transfer window, Eikrem was sold off to Solskjær’s Molde, despite his steady progress with no concrete reason given for the same.

4) Ezekiel Fryers

Ezekiel Fryers

Ezekiel “Zeki” Fryers might possibly be the most controversial youth player to leave Manchester United in the past few years. The Manchester-born left back was admittedly not the biggest loss to United. In fact, there were already rumours floating about that United might put the player on the market following his refusal to sign a new contact, with the offered wage being the bone of contention. After joining United as a 16-year old in 2009, Fryer’s progress was steady, albeit not extraordinary. He was given his first senior team appearance as a starter in the League Cup match against once-bitter rivals Leeds United in 2011. As Fryer’s contract ran down, Tottenham Hotspurs emerged as the front-runners in acquiring the young fullback’s signature. United, however, wanted £6 million for the youngster under the FA’s youth compensation rule and in the end, Tottenham pulled out. Fryers eventually moved to Standard Liege for a minimal price under Belgium’s compensation laws. It seemed that that was the end of it, but Fryers then moved to Spurs in the January transfer window for £3 million in a move that was called “a blatant manipulation of the rules” by then United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

3) Ravel Morrison

LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 06: Ravel Morrison of West Ham charges upfield during the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United at White Hart Lane on October 6, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Ah, Ravel Morrison, an enigma in and of himself. The young prodigy, born in Manchester itself, was once one of the hottest properties in Manchester. Much and more was expected of the creative midfielder, who possessed “touch, pace, balance and vision”. Joining United as a 16-year old in 2009, Morrison was immediately likened to Paul Scholes for the way he moved on the pitch- something that is not handed out easily in Manchester. But as time passed, it became evident that Morrison’s life off the pitch was overshadowing his life on it. Charged multiple times with various misdemeanors, it was only United’s plea to the courts for leniency that kept Morrison out of Juvenile reform centres. The final straw for the United hierarchy came when he pleaded guilty to two counts of witness intimidation. When Morrison was sold off to West Ham by Sir Alex Ferguson in the 2012 summer transfer window, he said to Sam Allardyce, “A brilliant footballer, brilliant ability, Top class ability, Needs to get away from Manchester and start a new life.”

2) Adem Ljaji?

Adem Ljajic

This is probably one of the weirdest misses that one can expect. Some might not even call it technically a “miss” since Ljajic never actually sealed the move, but read on to find out the story. Initially, Ljajic was given a trial at United, while he was still at Partizan Belgrade. On impressing at the trial, Ljajic was picked up by United, along with Partizan team mate Zoran Toši?. While Toši? was brought in immediately, Ljajic was to remain at Belgrade for the remainder of that season, and join United in the January transfer window of 2011. However, things went south as United were facing problems acquiring a work permit for the young Serbian, and ultimately, United decided to not finish the deal with the work permit issue not being resolved. Ljajic was said to be devastated at the failure of his “dream move” to Manchester. He then went on to join Fiorentina, for whom he put out some excellent performances. He was rewarded with a move to Roma in this summer’s transfer window, and is doing very well in the Italian capital. United fans will be left wondering what could have been had United tried harder to push through Ljajic’s work permit, as United missed out on such a talent after coming so close. Oh, and as a side note, the player United did sign, Zoran Toši?, was considered to be a flop at Old Trafford, and was sold off to CSKA Moscow.

1) Paul Pogba

“The one that got away” is the best line to describe Paul Pogba. The talented French youngster was considered to be one of the hottest prospects to come through the Manchester United production line before contract disputes and perceived ill-treatment at the hands of the manager prompted the young Frenchman to leave Manchester United for Italian giants Juventus. The defensive midfielder joined United’s youth academy as a 16-year old in 2009 from Le Havre. He immediately made an impact, ending his debut season with 19 starts in which he notched up 7 goals for the reserves. As time passed, it was more than apparent that this was a very special player. There were some stating that he was the best young player to emerge from United since a certain Paul Scholes nearly 20 years ago. Pogba is a defensive midfielder, but posses class on the ball that is expected from a creative player. He is also adept at chipping in with the occasional goal from midfield, a trait that is worth its weight in gold. But, alas, Manchester United dropped the ball on this one. At the end of the 2011-12 season, Pogba joined Juventus after refusing to sign a contract extension with United. The transfer was nothing short of acrimonious, as Sir Alex was infuriated with both the midfielder and Juventus. Pogba has stated on numerous occasions that it was the lack of faith shown in his abilities by Sir Alex that prompted him to look elsewhere. He claims that the last straw came when the manager called Scholes out of retirement when United was hit by a midfield injury crisis instead of giving Pogba a chance.

Looking at the situation at United now, with them in desperate need of a domineering midfield presence, one can only wonder “what if …” with the Pogba situation.