Rare scout report showed Man United legend was destined for the top and changed his life forever

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A life-changing scouting report on Roy Keane has emerged online and it showed how talented the Manchester United legend was as a youngster.

Widely regarded as one of the best captains in Premier League history, Keane’s humble beginnings began at Rockmount before he signed for Cobh Ramblers.

The 52-year-old Irish hardman represented Cobh in 47 appearances, both at youth level and senior level, and scored 11 times for the Irish side.

Keane, interestingly, was deployed on most occasions out on the right rather than the more centralised midfield position he would later be revered for in his career.

It was during his brief spell at Cobh that the former United captain would catch the eye of Noel McCabe, who was a scout for Nottingham Forest, with one performance.

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McCabe wasn’t scouting Keane in first place

According to The Athletic, McCabe had travelled out to see then-Cobh winger Jamie Cullimore in action for the under-18s side against Belvedere in a youth cup match.

However, the publication reports that Cullimore was ‘tipped off’ that McCabe would be present at the cup tie in 1990 and failed to impress with his ‘poor’ performance.

The Athletic reports that McCabe, who later became a postman, had ‘succumbed to [his] nerves’ as Cobh ended up losing the match 4-0 to Belvedere.

However, legendary former Forest manager Brian Clough would receive important intel from McCabe on a young and impressive Keane.

McCabe said that while Cullimore was “ordinary” and had no “standout ability,” the former Forest scout was left in awe at what he had seen from Keane.

“What struck me about Roy was his ability to go past players,” he said.

“He did it with ease, which was rare then and even rarer now. I spoke to his manager, got a number for the lad and arranged to meet him at the Ashling Hotel in Dublin.

“We had a good conversation and I told him I wanted to get him a trial at Nottingham Forest.

“He’d never had a trial anywhere and I found that surprising. He gave me the impression that he’d swim to England to become a footballer.”

What did the scout report on Keane say?

Keane would sign for Forest in 1990 and make a name for himself under Clough, which would later culminate in his sensational move to Old Trafford.

Despite Kenny Dalglish’s best efforts to sign Keane for Blackburn Rovers, Sir Alex Ferguson intervened and completed a then-British record transfer of £3.75m for the ex-Forest star.

Keane’s legacy at United speaks volumes about his career, but if any more proof was needed about his talent, then McCabe made note of that in his scout report.

The Athletic obtained a copy of McCabe’s scouting report and reproduced it, which highlights what he thought of Keane’s performance against Belvedere in 1990.

“Roy is a player who in this game showed me he has good skill and vision in finding players with his passes,” reads the report.

“He is aggressive with his tackling and was involved in all activity around the middle of the park.

“His pace is very good and he loved taking on players and going for the backline and could get good crosses in.

“He looks an [sic] nice balanced player and his upper body is broad and appears a very strong looking boy.

“He is, in my opinion, a player to go on trial to Forest. Right away.”