Manchester United are reportedly set to beat rivals Chelsea for the signing of 16-year-old Liverpool prospect Ethan Ennis this summer.
According to an exclusive report from Stretty News, Manchester United are on the cusp of landing promising youngster Ethan Ennis from arch-rivals Liverpool, beating Chelsea in the race for the teenager.
Ennis came through the ranks at the Liverpool youth academy and broke into the club’s Under-18 setup last season despite being just 16 years of age. The young forward featured eight times for the Reds’ youth team last season, producing a handy return of five goals and an assist in the process.
Ennis is rated highly within the club but reportedly turned down a deal that was offered to him by Liverpool, sparking a flurry of interest in his services, with Chelsea and Manchester United being at the forefront of it.
Chelsea, for years, have been known to pick up talented youngsters from across the country and Europe to bolster their academy ranks. Unlike in the past, though, there has been a pathway established to the first-team from the Blues’ youth setup, with the likes of Mason Mount, Reece James, Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi all making it big with the senior team.
Ennis, to that end, had emerged as another potential target to strengthen Chelsea’s youth setup this summer. In fact, it was even believed that the 16-year-old was headed to the west London outfit after being pictured at the club’s Cobham training base last month.
However, that may not be the case if the aforementioned report from Stretty News is to go by, who claim that Ennis will be signing for Manchester United instead. The Red Devils have been quite aggressive in their recruitment on the youth front over the past couple of transfer windows, having added several top prospects like Charlie McNeill, Marc Jurado, Joe Hugill, Willy Kambwala, among many others.
That trend seems set to continue in the current transfer window as well, with Manchester United having been linked with a move for Ipswich Town teenager Liam Gibbs while Kacper Kozlowski of Polish outfit Pogon Szczecin is also on the club’s radar.
And, it seems like they have now managed to beat Chelsea to the capture of Ennis, with the report claiming that the 16-year-old will be signing a three-year contract with Manchester United and will be part of the club’s Under-18 side right from the get-go.
