Recent reports from Leicestershire Live claim that Manchester United have joined Newcastle United and Leicester City in the race to sign Grimsby Town’s highly-rated 16-year-old midfielder Ben Grist.
The youngster has attracted interest from clubs like Liverpool and Chelsea in the past, and even a month ago, Leicester City were considered to be in the pole position to land him; however, Manchester United’s recent aggravated interest seems to have turned the tables.
Ben Grist, who is yet to make his senior debut for Grimsby Town, caught the attention when he was named on the substitutes bench for their Papa John’s trophy game against Harrogate Town back in September last year.
The academy star has been the centre of attraction for months now, but with Grimsby Town’s relegation from EFL League Two this season, it seems very likely that he’ll switch clubs in search of a bigger opportunity. Moreover, the Mariners might be forced to sell some of their youngsters amid the finical crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, according to Grimsby Town’s head coach Paul Hurst, nothing has been confirmed yet.
“Jason (Stockwood) and Andrew (Pettit) have made it pretty clear that this will happen for the right reasons, if indeed it does.” Hurst stated in an interview with BBC.
“It’s not a case of ‘let’s just sell all our young assets’ or anything like that. There is interest, I’m happy to confirm that. Other than that at this moment in time, I think talks are ongoing.”
“It’s certainly not a done deal as yet. It’s difficult for any young player if you’re in their shoes and the media speculation and maybe clubs have been in touch.”
“We’ll try and do what we feel is right, and try to be fair, and I think that’s something that they’re both very big on – how we treat people. We can’t be a charity of course, but at the same time we want to try and conduct ourselves in the right way and do things in the right manner.”
One For The Future?
I’ve barely watched League Two all my life, so I’m not going to sit here and tell you why he is the best thing since sliced bread.
Nonetheless, what I can tell you is that Manchester United’s investment in youth players has skyrocketed over the past year or so – with Facundo Pellistri, Amad Diallo, Shola Shoretire, Anthony Elanga and several others making a strong case of breaking into the starting eleven. In addition, this past summer, United signed Charlie McNeill from City, Joe Hugill and Logan Pye from Sunderland.
While the club deserves massive credit for the signings, one cannot deny that the further signing of players in such numbers would only hinder the development of the existing youngsters.
Nonetheless, there’s still some time before Grist and Grimsby Town come to the final decision, and until then, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should definitely keep an eye on his overall development.
