Manchester United want teenage striker but may have already missed out amid Manchester City swoop

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Manchester United have focused on signing top young talents under Ineos and may have one more target in mind for the future.

Manchester United had to splash the cash on first-team signings over the summer as Ineos backed Erik ten Hag rather than sacked him.

United’s net spend came to more than £100million over the summer with five first-team signings made.

That didn’t go too well in the end with United sacking Ten Hag in October following a poor start to the season.

United have now appointed Ruben Amorim to replace Ten Hag and will back him to get the best out of those summer signings.

Ineos are taking a long-term view though and brought in a host of promising youngsters over the summer.

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Manchester United want Michael Noonan

Sekou Kone and Chido Obi-Martin have generated the most hype but James Overy and Samuel Lusale are also highly regarded.

This is a strategy Ineos may well want to continue moving forward and another target has now emerged.

The Daily Mail report that United are keen on signing striker Michael Noonan from St Pat’s Athletic.

Noonan, 16, has already made his league debut for St Pat’s and has scored three times in four Leinster Senior Cup games.

Noonan is a talented left-footed forward who has caught the eye in Ireland, sparking United’s interest.

The report adds that United have actually secured the signing of Under-15 midfielder Emmanuel Ziro.

Arsenal and Chelsea have been chasing Ziro, who is currently with the London-based Cre8tive Football Academy.

United have won the race though and will hope to see Noonan join too – but there may be a problem in that regard.

Manchester City deal for Noonan may already be close

Noonan may well be heading to Manchester in the near future, but to City rather than United.

The Irish Independent reported late in October that Noonan was flying to England to finalise a deal with City.

Noonan being Under-18 means that he has to sign a pre-contract agreement and then join up with City when he turns 18.

There has been no confirmation of Noonan’s deal with City, which may just give United a glimmer of hope over a potential deal.

City certainly seem to be in the box seat, but Ineos may launch one last-ditch attempt to convince Noonan to choose Old Trafford over the Etihad Stadium.