Manchester United agree terms for highly-rated star, as club legend proves 'crucial' to deal: report
Manchester United are on the verge of completing their third signing of the transfer window
Manchester United have agreed personal terms to secure their third signing of the summer transfer window, with one club legend stepping in to help with the deal.
Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro have both arrived so far this summer as Erik ten Hag looks to conclude his business early ahead of the new season.
But while first team stars are the priority for Manchester United, deals for highly promising young players are also being struck.
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According to Fabrizio Romano, Manchester United have agreed terms with highly-rated youngster Chido Obi-Martin, with club legend and current assistant manager Ruud van Nistelrooy holding direct talks with the striker to convince him to join the club.
Obi-Martin announced his departure from Arsenal on Tuesday, thanking the club for his four years there. The 16-year-old had proposals from Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, but ultimately ended up choosing the Red Devils after being convinced by the long-term project at the club.
Having scored 32 goals in 20 appearances for Arsenal in the U18 Premier League last season, Obi-Martin captured the attention across Europe - and even a comparison to Victor Osimhen. He even trained with the Arsenal first team in November 2023 at just 15-years-old.
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Born in Denmark, Obi-Martin has represented both the country of his birth and England at youth level, with the report highlighting that he will be off to Old Trafford to continue his development.
Learning from Ruud van Nistelrooy will certainly stand him in good stead, while Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee are both top centre-forwards in the first team to absorb skills from, too.
He is unable to sign a professional contract until his 17th birthday in November 2024, however, meaning there's still a few months before the terms are properly finalised between Manchester United and Obi-Martin.
In FourFourTwo's view, this is an attempt from Manchester United to reassert their dominance in acquiring the best talent available, while for Obi-Martin there must be a clear pathway to the first team for him to leave Arsenal and reject offers from Germany.
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Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.