Manchester United are reportedly set to beat Leicester City for the signing of promising teenager Ben Grist from lower league outfit Grimsby Town.
According to a report from Football Insider, Manchester United are poised to complete the signing of Grimsby Town starlet Ben Grist, beating competition from fellow Premier League club Leicester City.
The 16-year-old Grist is held in high regards at Grimsby Town, who were relegated from the EFL League Two. The young midfielder has been in and around the first-team, training with the seniors since last year. In fact, he was even on the bench for the Mariners’ EFL Trophy penalty shootout win against Harrogate Town in September 2020. But he is yet to make his debut for them.
Nevertheless, Grist’s promise and potential have seemingly landed him on the radars of Manchester United. The Red Devils, under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, have been focusing on strengthening their youth ranks. To that end, the club have been quite active in their recruitment to bolster their academy squads and reserves over the past year.
Manchester United have brought in a number of young players with potential in the last couple of transfer windows with the likes of Charlie McNeill, Willy Kambwalla, Marc Jurado a few among them. And, that trend seems set to continue this summer as well, with the 20-time English champions showing interest in quite a few youth talents like Aston Villa’s Carney Chukwuemeka and Daniel Jebbison of Sheffield United among others.
Grist, too, has been on the radars of United for some time now, along with Newcastle United. But for a while, it seemed like the Red Devils were set to be beaten by Leicester City in pursuit of the Grimsby Town prospect. However, as per the report, Solskjaer’s side are pulling out all the stops to secure the signing of the 16-year-old and are confident of completing the deal after a breakthrough in talks.
Should he complete the switch, Grist is expected to slot right into Manchester United’s Under-18 setup. As for the transfer fees for the deal, the Mancunian outfit is expected to pay around £500,000 compensation should the deal go through as planned. So, as things stand, it looks like Solskjaer & co. are set to land the promising young Englishman, beating Leicester to his signing.
