Manchester United are reportedly leading the race for the potential transfer of Port Vale wonderkid Baylee Dipepa.
The talented 17-year-old striker has impressed after being given a run of first-team football at League One level, while he’s also shown for England at youth international level as well.
According to the Sun, Dipepa is now a name firmly on Man Utd’s radar as they look to smarten up their transfer strategy and try to sign some of the best young talent around.
The report notes that United chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe recently responded to questions about signing Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe by insisting he wanted the club to be able to find the next Mbappe out there.
It remains to be seen if Dipepa will end up being anywhere close to that level, but he looks a decent prospect and one imagines he’ll earn himself a big move soon, and it could be United currently working themselves into the strongest position.
Dipepa transfer: Can Man United sign wonderkid and kick-start new era of recruitment?
For years now, United have lagged behind most of their rivals in the transfer market, with big names often chosen over emerging talents representing the best value.
Huge sums of money have been spent on the likes of Paul Pogba, Harry Maguire and Antony, while the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal have been able to spend more smartly in that time period, bringing in world class players like Mohamed Salah and Martin Odegaard, to name just two, for relatively low fees by comparison.
If United can start identifying the best up-and-coming players before they really establish themselves as superstars, that could be an important turning point for them as they look to get back to being the force they were under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Dipepa looks like he could be just the kind of player MUFC should be going for.