Man United and Newcastle among clubs to scout wonderkid ahead of potential transfer

Manchester United and Newcastle United have reportedly been among the clubs to take a look at Schalke wonderkid Assan Ouedraogo ahead of a potential transfer.

That’s according to a report from Fussball News, which states that the 17-year-old has a long list of admirers from England and Germany, with Manchester City, Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig also mentioned as potential suitors.

It would be intriguing to see Ouedraogo at Man Utd, however, with the Red Devils in desperate need of some smart long-term planning with their signings after years of a rather scattergun approach that has seen a long list of big names fail to live up to expectations.

Ouedraogo seems like just the kind of player United need to be getting before their rivals, with the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal being far smarter with their recruitment in recent times.

Ouedraogo transfer: Will wonderkid pick Man Utd or Newcastle?

Still, with United now so far behind after their decline in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, it remains to be seen if an elite young talent like Ouedraogo will view them as a positive next step in his career.

The Germany Under-17 international need only look at a talent like Jadon Sancho, who benefited so much from the development he had in his first spell at Borussia Dortmund, before derailing his career at United.

Sancho has since got back to his best by leaving Manchester for a second spell on loan at Dortmund, and it may be that stories like this will put players off.

Clubs like Newcastle and Man City, by contrast, may be able to make a more convincing pitch to Ouedraogo as he prepares for an important few years in his career.

The teenager will want to be playing regularly and learning from the best coaches in a settled environment, and it’s hard to describe United like that these days.