Helmond Sport forward Eros Maddy has revealed how a foot injury ruined his chances of joining Manchester United as a youngster.
Maddy is currently turning out for Helmond after joining them on a free transfer from Utrecht in the summer transfer window.
He had been with them since 2019 following a move from Ajax, whom he had joined as a youngster in 2014 and spent five years with in their various youth ranks, which is when he caught the eye of Manchester United.
He would make appearances for their U17, U19 and U21 sides over the years but never make it to the first team, instead being allowed to move to continue his development elsewhere.
That’s eventually see him drop down into the Keuken Kampioen Divisie with Helmond, but it appears things could have been very different as Manchester United were once among his suitors.
They had given him the chance to impress as a youngster but that move was scuppered by an injury, with the forward detailing what happened in a conversation with Voetbal Zone.
“When I was 15, I was top scorer of the Netherlands Under 15,” he said.
“My family and business manager had already visited Manchester. That was an option, until I broke my foot.
“I was out for a very long time. The bone fracture didn’t heal quickly either, so I had to have a screw put in my foot. As a result, that never happened.
“Playing in England is a dream and Manchester United would have been a wonderful step, but Ajax was also very nice.”