Exclusive: Man United tracking 17-year-old wonderkid ahead of potential transfer, says expert

Manchester United are monitoring and tracking 17-year-old Port Vale wonderkid Baylee Dipepa, according to transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano.

The talented teenager looks like he could have a big future in the game, and it will be players like this that new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe will have had in mind when he recently spoke publicly about wanting to find the next Kylian Mbappe, rather than just signing ready-made superstars for the club.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for the latest edition of his column in the Daily Briefing, Romano explained that Man Utd scouts are keeping tabs on Dipepa, though negotiations over actually signing him have not started yet.

We’ll have to wait a bit longer to see if the Red Devils do decide to push ahead with this potential deal, and it may be that putting together their new board will be key to that, with key appointments like Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox still in the works.

Dipepa transfer: Will Man United step up their interest in Port Vale wonderkid?

Discussing United and Dipepa, Romano said: “Finally on Man United, 17-year-old Port Vale wonderkid Baylee Dipepa has been followed and tracked by the United scouting team.

“Let’s see if they decide to proceed with negotiations, but it will depend on the new board they are building now, so we can just be patient on that one.”

MUFC fans will no doubt hope that their club can improve their recruitment, because all too often in recent years they’ve lagged behind the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal on this, spending far more than those clubs but achieving worse results and performances.

A long list of big names have flopped at Old Trafford, so moving away from signing superstars and trying to unearth players like Dipepa who could be the next big thing would be a step in the right direction.