7 players drawn from the lower leagues to move on to Man Utd

Manchester United is considering a summer run for 16-year-old Jude Bellingham from the city of Birmingham.

The Red Devils follow in the teen’s footsteps as they’ve given Bellingham a full access tour of Old Trafford and the training facility at Carrington.

You may have tried what you can expect, but it’s not a bad feat moving from the lower leagues to one of the world’s biggest clubs.

Here we take a look at seven players who were featured as potential superstars in the levels below and review their time stepping on the boards at the Theater of Dreams.

Daniel James

The 22-year-old has had his critics this season, but it’s easy to forget that this time last year he was still practicing at the Swansea City Championship.

James only moved to Manchester last summer after a series of impressive swan performances and his wing magic even led to comparisons to the great Ryan Giggs from the UK.

And it remains to be seen if the Welshman will follow in the footsteps of his legendary compatriot. Today, your final product requires work, but there is no question of its potential.

In his first season, fatigue may have overtaken him when his form faltered, but James got off to a rocky start in his first Premier League campaign.

He enthused United fans after scoring three goals in his first four games, including an incredible shot in his team’s 1-1 draw at Southampton.

Lee Grant

Goalkeeper Grant joined the Stoke team at the Championship in 2018.

It was signed as the cover of David De Gea and has made only two first-team appearances in the same years.

However, Grant has clearly impressed boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who offered March 37 a 12-month contract extension in March.

Nick Powell

Much was expected of the 18-year-old who arrived at the Theater of Dreams for the League One Crewe team in 2012.

And while some were skeptical, few dared to question the judgment of the great Sir Alex Ferguson, with the legendary United boss hoping to make striker Powell a goal-scoring midfielder.

In fact, Fergie was so captivated by his new recruit that, after Powell’s debut attack on Wigan, he tipped the teenager to fill the boots of a certain Paul Scholes.

It’s safe to say that during Powell’s four years with the Premier League giants, managing just nine appearances, Scholes’ legacy remains somewhat unmatched.

Ben Foster

Sir Alex believed he had unearthed a gem when he signed with a 22-year-old Foster from Stoke City even though the archer had never made a major appearance for the Potters.

Instead, Foster had been cultivated at various lower league clubs and it was during his time at Wrexham that he caught the attention of the United boss.

He only appeared for United on a handful of occasions, but produced an inspired performance to lead his team to a 4-1 penalty shootout win over Tottenham in the 2008 League Cup final.

Unfortunately, Foster was unable to kick from his heroic Wembley, missed several first-team opportunities and ended up signing for Birmingham City two years later.

David bellion

Following Sunderland’s relegation to the Championship in 2003, Fergie moved quickly to catch the 20-year-old French striker.

Sir Alex insisted that Bellion was destined for greatness and was even accused of hitting the striker by the Black Cats, who successfully claimed £ 3m in compensation.

But that bright-eyed enthusiasm didn’t last long, as Bellion’s performances fell short of the preamble, and he only recorded four times in 24 league appearances for United.

His spell with the Red Devils came to an end after just two and a half years when Bellion returned to his homeland, signing for Nice in January 2006.

Jonathan Greening

Perhaps the greatest fairy tale of all. When Greening was posted by United, he was just eighteen years old and headed to York City.

After successfully completing a test with United, the teenager signed for his childhood club in 1998 and the following season, he would be part of the infamous campaign to win triples.

Greening found himself on the sidelines of the first team during that historic year, but was on the bench during the Champions League final 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich.

A small parts player was as good as he was for Greening, who, despite signing a new contract, yearned for a regular starting spot and moved to Middlesbrough in 2001.

Luke Steele

The goalkeeper was seen from the start by Fergie, and after earning a living at Peterborough Academy, Steele was rewarded with a move to United in 2002.

Having made only two appearances for Posh, the firm was seen as one for the future, but the 18-year-old struggled to settle between the sticks at Old Trafford.

In the face of competition from Ben Foster and Tom Heaton to be Edwin Van der Sar’s substitute, Steele was soon displaced.

After two loan periods with Coventry City, he finally went to a permanent agreement with West Brom, which saw Polish plug Thomas Kuszczak move in the opposite direction.