Signing young talent ahead of the competition is a significant part of the game these days, particularly for the big clubs who want to find the next big thing ahead of their rivals.
As such, major clubs will make their move for foreign talents from an early age, using any means necessary to get ahead of the competition and ensure it is them who the youngster chooses down the line.
This happens the world over and, Manchester United may have done just that when it comes to 15-year-old Colombian striker Sebastián Girado.
According to AS in Colombia, Manchester United are ‘interested’ in the striker, who is described as ‘a promise of Colombian football’.
EL REGALO DEL MANCHESTER UNITED A SEBASTIÁN GIRADO 🎁
El equipo inglés obsequió una de sus camisetas a nuestro goleador Sub15 mientras disputa el UEFA Development en Lisboa.
¿Se imaginan un #TalentoColombiagol vistiendo la casaca del de los 'red devils'? 🤩 pic.twitter.com/7pGIIlHhN4
— Colombiagol (@Colombiagol) February 10, 2020
Girado, it seems, has been garnering plenty of attention, with the newspaper saying he has ‘impressive scoring records’ in the youth leagues and this has earned him Manchester United’s attention.
He was recently at a friendly tournament with Colombia’s Under 16 squad in Portugal, which is being used as preparation for the South American Under 17 tournament next year.
While there he was visited by Colombia coach Carlos Queiroz, former assistant manager at Manchester United, and it was during this visit that he was presented with a United shirt with his name and the number 9 printed on the back.
Now, there is no mention of an official bid from United, or even any attempt to sign him, but giving him a shirt with his name on the back is obviously an attempt to sweeten him up.
They will probably be keeping an eye on his development with keen interest, more so after he scored on Real Cartagena in 2-1 win over Atlético FC in the BetPlay Dimayor Cup.