Manchester United rising star Harrison Parker, 16, will be poached by arch-rivals Manchester City, and the English youngster who only joined the Red Devils from Arsenal's youth system in 2021 and is now set to move again. Blue Moon did this supposedly to "avenge" the Red Devils' attempt to take Fletcher's twin sons.
Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano confirmed that Parker's move to Manchester City is close to a deal. Manchester United tried to offer the talented centre-back a "highest salary contract for a youth player", but City still played a game, beating Manchester United and four other clubs to sign Parker. Already 183cm tall at the age of 16, a head taller than most of his teammates, Parker is considered a natural Premier League centre-back.
Previously, British media confirmed that Manchester United wanted to take away the twin sons of club legend and current technical director Darren Fletcher from Manchester City, Jack and Taylor, who have been trained in the Manchester City Academy since childhood, and now one is selected for the England national team, and the other chooses to represent his father's home country Scotland. At Manchester United's home games, the Fletcher brothers were often seen in the directors' box at Old Trafford.
In retaliation for United's poaching, Manchester City threw an olive branch to Parker. At the age of 15, Parker had already represented Manchester United's under-18s and was also selected for the England Under-18s. He played only three Under-18 games last season due to injury, and as he neared recovery, United had already discovered he intended to leave, with senior management believing he was not loyal to United.
If you simply compare youth investment and results, Manchester City has surpassed Manchester United in recent years. Last season, Manchester City won Premier League 2 and Under-18 Premier League titles. Recently, Parker posted photos of himself preparing for the new season on social media, but he was not wearing a Manchester United shirt.
Parker spent nine years in Arsenal's academy before joining Manchester United, leaving with Wilshere. He will now sign a professional contract with Manchester City in September when he turns 17. Manchester Evening News reported that Manchester United insiders believe that Manchester City's introduction of Parker is a response to Manchester United's temptation of the Fletcher brothers, and the Red Devils hope to complete the transfer of the two by the end of this month.
It is reported that Manchester United has offered Parker the highest salary in the youth system, but it cannot meet the requirements of the opposing agent, so the two sides have to part ways.
The Reds insist this will not affect centre-back candidates in the youth system, as both Tyler Fredricson and Louis Jackson have already played for England and are part of the 2022 FA Youth Cup winning squad, with Jack Kingdon also playing for Scotland's Under-18s.
With Brexit's restrictions on signing overseas under-18s, United expect such deals between Premier League Academy camps to become more common. Charlie McNeill returned to United from Manchester City three years ago for an initial value of £750,000, and former Academy defender Reece Devine joined United from Manchester City in 2018.
Manchester United will hope that future youth players will not repeat the mistakes of "Aoki king" Mason Greenwood, who has still been suspended and suspended for training because of off-field domestic violence disputes. However, Greenwood, 21, trained publicly again this week, this time with Manchester United team-mate Erlanga and 19-year-old Irish player James Abankwa. It is worth mentioning that the pair of friends Aoki and Eranga may both leave Manchester United this summer, and Abankwa is currently playing for Udinese, and Serie A may be the next stop for Manchester United's king! A source said: "Mason (Greenwood) will definitely play somewhere next season."