Manchester United Enter Race For Ajax Starlet Ryan Gravenberch
Manchester United are reported to have joined the likes of Barcelona and Juventus in the race for exciting Ajax midfielder Ryan Gravenberch.
The Red Devils signed Donny van de Beek from the Dutch giants over the summer, while Ajax are already readying themselves for another auction involving the Premier League club for 18-year-old Gravenberch.
The midfielder has emerged as one of the most talented teenagers on the continent after coming through Ajax's famously good academy system.
Gravenberch became the club's youngest debutant ever in 2016 as a 16-year-old and has since gone on to make 20 appearances for the senior side, notching four goals and three assists from his box-to-box midfield role.
The young Dutchman has already caught the attention of Europe's elite. The Mirror reports that United are keeping tabs on the 18-year-old after he appeared in Ajax's Champions League contest with Liverpool last week.
Juve and Barcelona are also said to be casting an eye over Gravenberch, whose style has seen him garner Paul Pogba comparisons.
The teenager won't come cheap, mind.
The Dutchman signed a new three-year contract at the club in the summer and is viewed as a key protagonist in the rebuild project currently underway in Amsterdam following the mass exodus of the 2018/19 side which came within a miraculous Lucas Moura hat-trick of a Champions League final.
There's also no indication that Gravenberch is keen to leave the club, although United may seek to utilise their strong relationship with former goalkeeper and current Ajax CEO in their attempts to bring the midfielder to the club.
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The Red Devils certainly aren't short in midfield options, with the potential purchase of Gravenberch undoubtedly a move for the future - much like a switch for noted target Jude Bellingham would've been.
The club have been amassing young talent in recent months, with Facundo Pellistri joining from Penarol, and Amad Diallo expected to join from Atalanta in January.