Manchester United won the race for Ayden Heaven thanks to a charm offensive involving Sir Alex Ferguson, despite other clubs offering double the money.
The plan to bring the youngster to United was hatched by Jason Wilcox, who according to The Athletic acted quickly after hearing that Heaven had met representatives from Eintracht Frankfurt.
In response, Wilcox invited the young defender to Old Trafford for the Europa League clash with Rangers, unwittingly giving the teenager a taste of the Red Devils’ penchant for late drama thanks to Bruno Fernandes’ injury time winner.
United “rolled out the red carpet” for Heaven, seating him in the directors’ box and organising not just a meeting with current manager Ruben Amorim but a handshake from Ferguson, the club’s greatest-ever.
But The Athletic note that Wilcox, technical director at that time, was the “deciding factor” in the player’s move to Old Trafford as he persuaded Heaven that the United project was right for him, just as he was right for it.
He reportedly described how the young Englishman would quickly settle into the environment at Carrington and Old Trafford and how the club would match his ambition, and explained that Heaven would be perfect for Amorim’s system which relies on defenders who are brave in possession.
To cap it all off, he pointed to the club’s long and storied history of developing young talent and emphasised how Heaven “would fit into United’s wider vision”.
This was the critical element of United’s pitch which ultimately saw them outpace their competitors, both in England and abroad.
With Heaven’s contract at Arsenal running out Premier League rivals including Chelsea and Newcastle United were circling, putting together “more attractive financial packages” and “some even offering double the money.” Further afield, Barcelona and Marseille were also interested.
It’s refreshing to hear that United won the race on merit, not just on salary and bonuses, and getting the deal over the line for just £1.5m represented, for The Athletic, a “promising start for Wilcox as dealmaker-in-chief.”
The 53-year-old had already helped the Red Devils bring in another teenage defender the summer before in Leny Yoro, although the Frenchman cost substantially more at £52m.
The Athletic reveal that Wilcox personally met the player early on in the club’s pursuit, but also had the wherewithal to enlist United legend Rio Ferdinand – a former team-mate from Leeds United – to help persuade Yoro to snub the likes of Real Madrid and Liverpool and move to the Theatre of Dreams.
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
