Body blow for United as fierce PL rivals snatch midfield wonderkid on deadline day – report

Manchester United have been kept busy as several academy graduates earned loan moves away on deadline day. However, one highly rated prospect has departed the club permanently, with Edward Ibrovic-Fletcher joining fierce rivals Leeds United, as per Football Insider. The 17-year-old was a regular under U18s boss Darren Fletcher in the first half of the campaign, playing in seven of nine games. The Serbia U19 international signed scholarship terms with the Red Devils, but it seems he was hellbent on returning to his hometown. Edward Ibrovic-Fletcher joins Leeds The Whites have been interested for sometime now, and United were also open to the idea of letting the attacker leave. “Leeds United have agreed a deal to sign starlet Edward Ibrovic-Fletcher from arch-rivals Manchester United in a permanent deal, sources have told Football Insider. “Ibrovic-Fletcher, 17, signed scholarship terms at Man United last year, but now looks set to move on to join Leeds’ academy set-up.” Capable of playing as an attacking midfielder as well as a striker, Edward Ibrovic-Fletcher is expected to join Leeds’ youth set-up. Plenty of United starlets left on loan on deadline day He had the option of representing either England or Serbia at international level, and chose to play for his mother’s country. Gabriele Biancheri is another Carrington product who received a permanent offer to depart, but in his case, the Red Devils rejected Real Betis’ proposal. Instead, he earned a loan move to League One. Plenty of other academy starlets have also departed on loan. A couple of stars have also returned from their loan spells, either due to injury, or to earn regular minutes at U21 level. The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25