Manchester United are ‘on the verge’ of signing Grimsby Town youngster Ben Grist.
Grimsby Live report United are set to win the race for the teenage midfielder.
Liverpool and Chelsea were both linked, Grimsby Live report, with United now frontrunners to seal a deal.
Grist, 16, plays as a midfielder and has this season been named on the bench for Grimsby’s senior side although has not yet made his debut.
Grimsby insist there is no agreement to sell Grist yet, with manager Paul Hurst stating no club have yet met their valuation.
The report from GrimsbyLive suggests this may only be a matter of time for United.
British recruitment
One of the effects of Brexit is that United can only sign players under 18 who are from the UK.
Last year’s deals for youngsters from Spain, France, Poland and Norway would not be possible this summer.
United knew this in advance and really pushed the academy recruitment last summer. The other way the club could approach this, is to sign foreign talent and loan them abroad, but it is unclear if United will go down this route.
The club did sign young British talent last summer with Charlie McNeill and Joe Hugill making big impacts already since their moves from Sunderland and Manchester City.
They have netted 32 goals combined for the academy teams.
A move for Grist is not yet done. If it does go through, then he will go into United’s under-18s side for next season.
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