Manchester United finally completed the permanent signing of 18-year-old Amad Diallo this week, with the youngster just awaiting a work permit before travelling to Manchester to begin working with the Red Devils.
Despite his youth, Diallo is being talked up as the next big thing, but that should come as no surprise.
As far back as 2015, the big clubs in Italy knew that he was a star in the making, with one Roma scout incredulous at the skill he was showing at such an early age.
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“Atalanta was certainly not the only one to put him in the crosshairs,” Boca Barco president, Enzo Guerri, from the youth team Diallo played for between 2014-15, said to Tuttomercatoweb, cited by the Daily Mirror.
“There was a line of observers to see Diallo, they came to our field from all over Italy.
“Amad made three trials in Turin with Juve, and was called by Reggiana, Sassuolo, Empoli, Rome and, in fact, Atalanta.
“He tried them all until he found the right place for the big jump. Not surprisingly, he became the first scorer in our Serie A class of 2002 in the Nerazzurri.
“I remember a very funny story with a Roma observer.
“He came to see him in a match and, after five minutes when Diallo chest trapped the ball, he turned his back and went away.
“I immediately asked him for an explanation and he answered me: ‘Things like that, at the age of 12, only potential champions do. Seeing him in this match is of little use, take him to Rome to train with our team.’
“At Atalanta, however, they made him play from day one with the boys a year older. In short, Amad has always been predestined.”
It’s expected that Diallo will be one for the future, however, if he does the business on the training pitch and shows no sign of nerves, then there’s every chance that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could look to ease him into the first team picture sooner rather than later.
Equally, the pressure on his shoulders could be a distraction, so it may be a little while before he’s allowed to spread his wings.