The summer transfer window may have closed several weeks ago, but Manchester United’s academy business has continued to trickle into the public domain, with the final deal of the window at under-18 level confirmed just today.
Manchester United have confirmed the signing of highly rated attacker Isaac Konde from Liverpool. The 16-year-old can play on either wing and made six appearances for Liverpool’s under-18s last season.
Unlike first-team transfers, academy moves involving young players are subject to a ratification process, with the Premier League required to review and approve registrations before deals can be formally confirmed.
The process can drag on for a number of weeks, particularly when players are moving between Premier League academies, meaning clubs can have agreements in place well before they are able to publicly announce them. It has therefore taken until late September for some of United’s summer recruitment to become official.
New faces through the door
David Eze, 16
The first of United’s recent academy recruits to receive official confirmation, David Eze joined from Manchester City after progressing through their academy system.
A central midfielder, Eze is a progressive passer who likes to control and dictate games from deeper areas, while his physical profile gives him an advantage in midfield battles. Standing at over 6’0″, he combines his size with the technical ability to move the ball forward and has already represented England at youth level.
As with the other signings at this level, Eze is regarded as one for the future, with United viewing him as a potential first-team player further down the line.
Karim Cassim, 17
Arriving from City alongside his teammate Eze, Cassim is known for his dominant running with and without the ball. The 17-year-old is a threat in the final third and likes to get involved in his side’s attacking efforts, either through creating chances or getting on the end of goalscoring opportunities.
A dynamic midfield player who is highly rated in the English academy football scene, Cassim joined City as an Under-8 and progressed through the age groups playing a year or two up at each level.
Cassim was part of the Manchester City squad that won the FA Youth Cup last season, though he didn’t play in the final and has represented England up to Under-17 level. United officially confirmed his move in September, following the necessary ratification of the deal.
Isaac Konde, 16
The third and final academy signings confirmed by United following the conclusion of the summer window, Konde joined Liverpool at under-8 level, rising through the age groups and making his first under-18 appearances last summer.
An exciting winger who can play off both sides, Konde is the type of attacker that gets fans off their seats. The Merseyside talent excels in 1v1 situations, beating his man with explosive bursts of pace, nimble changes of direction and delicate trickery.
Konde made six appearances for Liverpool’s Under-18s last season, registering one assist, before United agreed a deal to bring him to Old Trafford.
The teenager’s arrival is another indication of the increasingly aggressive approach United have taken towards academy recruitment, with the club prepared to take highly-rated youngsters from other Premier League setups rather than relying solely on their own production line.
Noah Ajayi commits his future to United
The club announced that 17-year-old attacking prospect Noah Ajayi has signed a long term professional deal last week, in a boost for United as they look to retain their best young talents.
Ajayi plays primarily as a left-winger, but can operate effectively in any position across the front-line and attacking midfield. Ajayi uses his height at 6’2” and strong frame to his advantage, absorbing contact well and bursting away from defenders with ease.
Born in Hamburg, Germany, he moved with his family to England aged 10. He was soon spotted by United’s scouts and joined the club’s academy setup, progressing through the age groups and eventually signing his scholarship deal last summer at 16.
In unconventional fashion, Ajayi made his under-21s debut in April 2025 against Reading, a day before his first appearance for the under-18s, which came against Nottingham Forest. The following season Ajayi built on this, featuring more prominently for United’s youth sides and becoming a crucial component of Darren Fletcher’s attacking weaponry.
During the 2025/26 season, he made 28 appearances across the U18 Premier League, FA Youth Cup, Premier League 2 and Premier League International Cup, scoring 9 goals and assisting once, averaging a goal contribution every 143 minutes, an impressive output for a first-year scholar.
A telling indicator of Ajayi’s talent and potential is the ongoing tussle between the German and Nigerian Football Associations to secure his national allegiance, a battle which Die Mannschaft seem to have gained an early advantage in, having handed him a call-up and debut during their recent under-19 Euros qualifiers.
Bayern Munich have expressed a historic interest in the youngster, with the German powerhouse just one of several top clubs to have kept tabs on him. Despite this, Ajayi has committed his long term future to United and could be in line for first-team minutes before long, with coaches believing that his strong physical traits could aid his transition to senior football.
Ajayi, who turns 18 on November 23rd, can now continue his development at Carrington with the security of his first professional contract. United will hope that the deal can be the first step towards eventually integrating him into senior football, with his physical profile and versatility giving him a useful platform from which to make that progression.
The latest on JJ Gabriel
Casting a shadow over the positive developments within the academy this summer is of course the looming potential of JJ Gabriel’s departure in October when he turns 16.
Manchester United were shocked to learn of the 15-year-old’s desire to leave the club in early September, believing otherwise that he was satisfied with his progress at the club and excited by the prospect of making a first-team debut in the near future.
Michael Carrick had planned to hand Gabriel a record breaking first-team debut against Brighton in the Carabao Cup on the 16th of September, but in the eyes of Gabriel and his entourage, the damage that led to his desire to leave had already been done.
The club publicly insist that they are continuing to do everything in their power to keep hold of Gabriel, but internally there are growing doubts over how possible that is, with Real Madrid and Barcelona pushing showing no signs of slowing their efforts to sign the super-talent.
Super agent Ali Barat and his agency Epic Sports are said to be playing a key role in efforts to engineer Gabriel’s move to another European giant, raising question marks over the influence of such high profile third party figures in a deal of this nature.
Sources have pointed out the timing of Barat’s permission from the FA being granted to represent minors, which aligned with the news of Gabriel no longer wanting to play for United breaking on September 15th.
While United are pleased with the talent throughout the age groups, Gabriel is viewed as the crown jewel of the academy, and senior officials have long pinned hopes on him becoming one of the stars of the club, as a player with the potential to be impactful both on the pitch and from a marketability perspective. To lose him would be a crushing blow, although that now appears to be the inevitable conclusion of this saga.
Gabriel and his entourage travelled to Barcelona earlier this month, with talks between the youngster’s camp and both Barcelona and Real Madrid understood to be advancing. Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are also among the clubs interested, with no shortage of potential destinations on the table.
United have rejected Gabriel’s request to cancel his registration, meaning he remains tied to the club for now. However, his 16th birthday on October 6 could prove significant, with the youngster potentially able to leave England if he is granted the necessary EU passport thanks to his Irish Heritage, and if FIFA rule that his family are relocating to another country for reasons unrelated to football.
The club will not enter the market to sign a ‘like for like’, or statement signing as a replacement, but instead will continue their aggressive but measured recruitment of what they believe to be the best young talent across the country.
Positives and Negatives
United have done well to bring in several top players who join an already strong core of first and second year under-18 scholars.
Manchester United’s first year scholar intake featured 15 players who featured primarily at under-16 level last season:
Jaume Camacho Sidos (Midfielder) Jacey Carrick (Midfielder) Edson Dejonge-Seiros (Forward) Harley Emsden-James (Defender) Idris Fabiyi (Defender) Jake Ford (Goalkeeper) Gazimagamed Ibragimov (Defender) Connor Laurie (Defender) Harlem McLaughlin (Midfielder) Camron Mpofu (Forward) Jodie Nganga (Midfielder) Samuel O’Brien (Defender) Kai Rooney (Forward) Pharell Silvester (Midfielder) Emmanuel Ziro (Midfielder).
Deals have also taken place at lower age groups, with highly rated goalkeeper Charlie Hardy joining from Derby County earlier in the summer, as well as under-15 player Manuel Appiah Boakye also joining from Leicester City.
Despite the many flaws at Old Trafford in recent years, one thing they have done well is to keep hold of their best talents amid an incredibly competitive market where clubs behave like vultures picking off the biggest talents from their rivals and competitors.
Other players have come close to leaving before, but United have always done enough to convince them of the virtues of staying and vying for a future playing at Old Trafford. You’d have to go back to Paul Pogba to find a scenario where United were resigned to losing a world-class talent of Gabriel’s calibre.
United have strengthened an already promising academy and secured the future of another highly rated prospect in Ajayi, but could still lose the player they regard as the biggest talent of the lot. It makes for a summer that has produced plenty of encouragement, but one that could ultimately be remembered with a degree of frustration if Gabriel does indeed depart in October.
