Manchester United, Liverpool scouting 18-year-old midfield wonderkid Malick Junior Yalcouyé | OneFootball

Ever since the great Sir Alex Ferguson retired, Manchester United have mainly overspent on mercenaries and big-name players and that ploy has yielded very little success.

However, with INEOS now onboard, that approach is expected to change with Sir Jim Ratcliffe claiming that the club will try and unearth diamonds in the rough, something the legendary Scotsman was renowned for.

IFK Göteborg’s 18-year-old sensation Malick Junior Yalcouyé is reportedly a target for the Red Devils who had sent scouts to witness the midfielder’s skill-sets up close.

Swedish outlet Expressen have revealed that the 20-time English league champions are not the only team keeping an eye on the Ivorian with Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Ajax also keeping a close eye on the player’s development.

Yalcouyé race

“The young Ivorian is seen as, by Allsvenskan standards, an exceptional talent and has taken the top league by storm during the spring, even though IFK Göteborg as a team has had a hard time

“This has not gone unnoticed by major foreign clubs. Already in April, Expressen was able to report that top clubs from Portugal and Belgium as well as Liverpool were scouting him on site in Sweden. There is also concrete interest from Ajax and PSV Eindhoven.

“And when runner-up IFK Göteborg host fourth-placed Mjällby at home at Gamla Ullevi, a large number of clubs are sitting in the stands to closely follow Malick Yalcouyé from close range. Including Bologna, FC Copenhagen, Manchester United and Bayern Munich.”

Yalcouyé arrived in the Allsvenskan in February from ASEC Mimosas back home, and he hit the ground running from the very first game and became an instant regular.

The central midfielder has made 13 appearances for his new club and Ola Larsson, the technical director of the club, has already revealed that the Allsvenskan club are open to a sale should they receive a record bid.

The Swedish outfit’s record transfer saw Benjamin Nygren depart for Genk for a record £3.68 million in 2019. Göteborg want to double it with Yalcouyé’s sale.

Record sale

“Oh my God, yes. All those clubs are there all the time. I always think he is our best player. I think he is completely superior and I also think he always has another level in his body. If it would then be a top-five league, who knows?

“If we receive an offer that we cannot refuse – then we will sell,” Larsson was quoted as saying.

The player is certainly not ready to start in the English top-flight but with such a robust academy system, there is no reason why he cannot be polished and made ready for the first team.

Not a high-profile acquisition but one that could signal INEOS are set to take a different path to success as compared to the Glazers.

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