Premier League giants Manchester United have begun a raid on League Two outfit Salford City as they reportedly took 19-year-old Kelly N’Mai on trial last week, according to The Daily Mail.
The young winger has featured 11 times for the League Two club this season and committed his future to them with a new contract in 2021.
But that future appears to be in doubt as it is reported that last week he has been spending some time with the Premier League giants. The link between these clubs is of course no secret, with the famous Class of 92’s ownership of the League Two club.
The 19-year-old featured in an under 21’s game for the club last week, playing 51 minutes in a 2-2 draw with Leicester City before he was eventually replaced by Sam Murray.
Kelly N’Mai
A 19-year-old winger, N’Mai was a regular in the EFL Youth Alliance in the 20/21 season, he has previously previously had trials with Manchester City. It was 2021 when his breakthrough would begin for Salford City, after impressing in pre-season, he would make his debut as a substitute in August 2021, appearing from the bench against Newport County.
He made the step up from the academy, which he joined in 2020, to the development squad and in 2021, he became the first academy play to start a fixture for Salford City against Scunthorpe United.
He has not been able to stay consistent in playing in the first team though, up to now he has made 11 appearances for the club and has spent this season out on loan. Becoming a regular at Warrington Rylands in the National League North, before making the step up in March 2023 with a loan spell to Chester.
Class of 92 links.
As mentioned, the relationship between the two clubs is no secret, the Class of 92 are one of the most famous in football, stemming from Manchester United’s academy. A number of significant shareholders such as Gary Neville, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, and Ryan Giggs among others play an important part in a good relationship between these two clubs.
The academy graduates have played an important part in turning things around for the club when they took over in 2014. The club were languishing in the National League North when the group came in and the road to the EFL looked long and arduous. And in 2019, their rise to the EFL was completed by beating AFC Fylde 3-0 at Wembley to earn promotion to League Two.
They have not been able to make it out of League Two, but are currently in the playoff picture, as they look to continue their climb up the ladder in English football, but Stockport County stand in their way over two legs before a Wembley appearance, but their goal will still be the Premier League.
Strong development squad.
This being a Premier League giant, it would be hard to see a player such as N’Mai turn down an opportunity to pull on a Manchester United shirt.
Being a player who has grown up around Salford, part of a trio playing grassroots football with Ben Collins and Djavan Pedro, who were all signed by Salford, Manchester United are certainly a club that would have stood out to them.
The Class of 92′ shows how strong the Manchester United academy is and has continued to produce youth players to a top level such as Marcus Rashford. And even today some of these top talents are on loan in the EFL, such as Shola Shoretire, who is on loan at Bolton Wanderers.
What’s been said?
The Daily Mail has reported that last week Kelly N’Mai went on trial with the Manchester United youth team, playing in a game for the under-21’s team against Leicester City.
It remains to be seen whether he has done enough to impress the people he needs to impress at Manchester United, but it will show that the League Two club need to take him seriously if his future remains with the club.
The Dutch teen has had trials with Manchester City before but was unsuccessful. The teen played 56 minutes for the club’s youth team against Leicester City last week, before being subbed off for Sam Murray.
Writers View.
At such a young age, N’Mai has been playing football a lot at a senior level and has clearly impressed his managers. Those performances appear to have caught the eyes of others made clear by Premier League trials.
Whether or not these trials are successful, he has a bright future ahead of him and Salford clearly value him with a number of first-team appearances, as well as loan spells where they made the decision to elevate him to a higher level.
Right now though, this is a huge opportunity for the player and one he can not turn down.
