Manchester United are losing ground in the race for League of Ireland star Mason Melia.
Ineos have been very decisive so far in terms of bringing in young talent, such as Chido Obi-Martin and Sekou Kone.
The Red Devils have also been linked with other skilled starlets such as Chris Rigg at Sunderland and Franco Mastantuoso at River Plate, as they aim to become the premier destination for young talent in world football.
The 17-year-old Irish star Melia is another player United are keen to add to their squad of already talented teenagers. Nonetheless, they face an uphill task to land him as one Premier League team has already taken a lead to secure his services.
According to TEAMtalk, “Tottenham Hotspur are leading the race ahead of their Premier League rivals to land Irish teen sensation Mason Melia.”
“Melia is regarded as one of the best young talents to emerge from Ireland after impressing for Dublin-based outfit St Patrick’s Athletic and for Republic of Ireland’s youth sides over the course of the last two years.”
Manchester City and Chelsea, as well as United, have all sat up and taken notice of the player’s rise but it is Spurs who are reportedly in “pole position” to land the talented forward.
“Tottenham see Melia as a potential star in the making and they are keen to steal a march on their rivals by firming up a move for the teenager as soon as possible”.
He has played over 50 times for the League of Ireland side despite his tender years and has scored 10 goals.
According to scout reports, Melia is a “very direct player” who “possesses some excellent close control, allowing him to retain possession whilst travelling at speed.”
He also has “a good eye for a pass” and can make “highly intelligent” off-the-ball movements to open up defences.
It was reported last year that United had been tracking the youngster and then in the summer it seemed that Everton had taken a lead in securing the exciting forward’s services.
Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images
Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
