Manchester United and Manchester City are set to do battle to sign Irish wonderkid Sam Curtis, according to reports.
In recent years, Manchester United have signed multiple young players from other sides who would start out in their academy.
Alejandro Garnacho joined the club from Atletico Madrid a few years ago and now he is a starter at Old Trafford which shows that their methods of signing academy players certainly works.
Well, it seems that the Red Devils are turning their attention to 17-year-old defender Sam Curtis with United and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City interested, according to TeamTalk.
Who is Sam Curtis
As well as the two Manchester clubs, multiple Premier League sides are interested in the defender with Everton, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur said to be keen on the St Patrick’s Athletic prospect, according to the report.
TeamTalk says that United have been in contact with the Irish side about a move for the defender so they may well have stolen a march on their rivals for the Irishman.
As for Curtis, the young defender was named as Republic of Ireland Under-18 Player of the Year for 2022 at the FAI International Football Awards.
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Despite his tender age of just 17, Curtis has already made 61 senior career appearances and has also scored three goals from the right-back position where he predominantly features.
The report goes on to say that Curtis is on the verge of a Republic of Ireland call-up which would be a good chance to see how the defender adapts to top-level football.
He is also the youngest player to ever feature in the League Of Ireland at the age of just 14. Curtis has also had previous trials at Roma and Bayer Leverkusen.
Read more: Man United ready to do battle with Man City for 17-year-old Irishman
United’s academy moves
The Red Devils, as mentioned, have made countless moves for academy players from other sides, some have worked out, Garnacho and Hannibal Mejbri are examples of this, others haven’t.
This method to sign younger players for decent prices or just compensation fees is a low-risk move from the Red Devils.
The fact that the Irishman Curtis has already made 61 first-team appearances means he could be perfect for the Red Devils with his maturity clear to see.
