Norwegian starlet Kristian Arnstad has revealed he turned down an opportunity to join both Manchester United and Ajax for Anderlecht.
The Belgian side initially took the 17-year-old for their academy in the summer of 2019 and was promoted to their first team by Vincent Kompany this season.
Prior to signing a contract with the Jupiler Pro League side, the young midfielder had a trail with the Red Devils and the Dutch side.
Today’s edition of Het Nieuwsblad has an interview with the Norway U19 international, in which he detailed the reasons that convinced him to snub United and Ajax to join Anderlecht.
“At Manchester [United] and Ajax I took part with the youth [team] for a while. They both wanted to keep me, but I had to make a well-considered choice,” Arnstad said.
“Anderlecht then knocked and their slogan was: In Youth We Trust. The road to the first team is shorter [at Anderlecht] than with Ajax [or Manchester United].”
Arnstad’s decision to pick Anderlecht seems to have paid off as he has made two appearances for their senior team, which includes playing the full 90 minutes in his side’s 3-0 defeat to Club Brugge in October.
The newspaper adds the teenager’s goal is now to become a regular for Anderlecht’s first team in 2021.
In September 2019, Arnstad explained Kompany’s decision to bet on young players and his style of play convinced the Norwegian to pick Anderlecht over Manchester United.
