Manchester United have reportedly secured a deal to add RCD Espanyol wonderkid Arnau Puigmal to their ranks at Old Trafford
Spanish publication Sport have reported in an exclusive that Manchester United have secured the signing of highly-rated RCD Espanyol wonderkid Arnau Puigmal. The Red Devils are set to add the player to his youth ranks in continuation with their policy of revamping their youth setup.
Manchester United have always been associated with one of the burgeoning youth setups in the entire footballing world — up there with Barcelona and Ajax as the very best of the lot. The Red Devils produced the famous ‘Class of 1992’ – a group of players that achieved unprecedented success.
However, in recent times, the youth setup at United have failed to produce as many great players for the first-team, with Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford the only ones from the recent crop to be a constant part of the first-team setup as at the present moment.
Manchester United ‘sign’ Arnau Puigmal – Who is he? https://t.co/TRNVNdS12U pic.twitter.com/LSnaTiUsfF
— Dennis Abraham James (@DennisA_James) May 19, 2017
In an attempt to revamp their youth setup, the club appointed Nicky Butt as the head of the department while bringing in Kieran McKenna as the new Under-18 manager while adding several impressive youngsters – Nishan Burkart, Joshua Bohui, Tahith Chong and more – to the list of youth prospects already at the club.
And Arnau Puigmal could be the latest addition to the United setup. The player arrived at Espanyol in the 2010/11 season and has since progressed rapidly through the various age groups at Espanyol. The 16-year-old plies his trade as a central midfielder and has the ability to add goals from the centre of the park.
Add to that the versatility and movement that the player possesses, and the youngster is indeed one for the future. The player showcased his talent in the Mediterranean International Cup final, where he bagged a goal against Barcelona and was adjudged as the MVP of the tournament.
The player’s departure would be a big blow to Espanyol, who had earmarked the player to soon be a part of their first-team setup. It will be now interesting to see how Puigmal can adjust to the conditions and surrounding at his new club and whether he can hit the ground running at Manchester United.
