Manchester United are interested in 16-year-old Australian striker James Overy | OneFootball

Manchester United are reportedly set to compete with Everton and West Ham for the signature of 16-year-old James Overy.

One aspect that new owners INEOS seem desperate to change is the club’s style of recruitment and reports from recent months seem to suggest that their influence has already been felt at the club.

They are keen to recruit younger players and focus on homegrown players and this has seen a change in the type of players that have been linked to the club lately.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is keen to exploit the South American and European markets and this can be seen with United’s interest in Aaron Anselmino.

There have also been stories around young players such as Chris Rigg, Archie Gray and Francesco Camarda.

Even yesterday, fresh reports came out that United were leading the race for Port Vale youngster Baylee Dipepa, and were also showing interest in Blackburn Rovers’ Igor Tyjon and FC Copenhagen’s Amin Chiakha.

The Sun have now reported that the Red Devils have another young starlet on their summer shopping list.

United “are also in the running for Aussie right-back James Overy, 16, ahead of rivals Everton and West Ham.”

“Overy left Perth Glory when his family returned to England to live in Devon and is currently with Newton Abbot Spurs.”

“But the Aussie has been to train with United and given the VIP treatment with accommodation in Hotel Football, right beside Old Trafford.”

“The Hammers have also invited Overy for talks after they saw him in a pre-season friendly last year while Everton also plan a move.”

This increased focus on youth pairs nicely with the incredible success of the U18s, who won a treble and destroyed bitter rivals Liverpool 1-9.

The first team has also benefited massively from strong academy recruitment as of late with both Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo being two of the standout performers in the senior squad, at only 19 years of age.

This was highlighted perfectly by the two starlets scoring the goals against Manchester City in United’s incredible cup success at the weekend.

A fine season for the academy was also capped with Ethan Wheatley becoming the 250th academy graduate to make his debut for the club in a 4-2 victory over Sheffield United in April.

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