Manchester United hero Lee Sharpe made his name at Old Trafford as a teenager in the late 1980s and early 90s, though the former winger had to prove himself in the Fourth Division prior to making the switch.
Sharpe played 14 times for Torquay in 1987/88 as a 16-year-old, scoring three goals and capturing the attention of the biggest clubs in England. He signed a deal to move to Manchester United for £200,000 - a record fee at the time for YTS player - in April 1988 from Torquay United, though the transfer didn't go through until June, when he had turned 17.
As a result, Sharpe spent the final two months of the season back at Torquay. On his first game back for the Gulls, he scored twice and set up a further two at Plainmoor.
Manchester United had to wait for Lee Sharpe, despite him signing for £200k
“I made my debut aged 16 that season, and had been attracting a lot of attention from clubs," Sharpe exclusively tells FourFourTwo. "I agreed to sign for Manchester United and went up there for a few days to train with the reserves and meet the first team.
"Brilliant things were happening to me and I was so excited. I went back down south to finish the season – in the next game, we played Newport County on a Tuesday, won 6-1 and I scored two, created two and had a particularly good game on a farmer’s field of a pitch, covered in mud and sand.
"I thought, ‘I won’t be playing on many more pitches like this one next season’.”
Instead, Sharpe started to ply his trade at the likes of Old Trafford, Anfield, Stamford Bridge and Highbury - the latter of which he managed to score a hat-trick at in 1990, during a 6-2 rout of Arsenal. Though only the fourth round of the League Cup, it's still seriously impressive for a 19-year-old to bag three times against a defence containing Tony Adams, Steve Bould, Nigel Winterburn and Lee Dixon.
“Arsenal’s back four and goalkeeper were absolutely incredible, so for us to score six at Highbury showed just how well we played," Sharpe adds. "I scored a hat-trick on one of those evenings when everything came off.
"I was absolutely flying – nobody could get close to me. United fans still talk to me about that game now. Performances like that don’t happen every week, unless you’re Lionel Messi, so when they do happen you have to enjoy every second.
"Those early years at United were such brilliant days. I just wanted to play football and make the manager proud. What I’d give to go back!”
