Manchester United favourites to land Australia wonderkid James Overy

Overy plays for non-league level side Devon

According to reports, Manchester United are about to sign young player James Overy, who has been playing football at Devon’s non-league level.

The 16-year-old, whose family relocated to England last year, left the Australian team Perth Glory, where he is allowed to compete for both Australia and England.

He has since joined the first team of Newton Abbot Spurs, but the Premier League took notice of him after he made an impression for Perth Glory against West Ham in a preseason game when he was just 15 years old. Manchester United is ‘hopeful’ that Overy would decide to join their academy after offering him a scholarship offer, as reported by the Manchester Evening News.

Despite attention from other Premier League teams including West Ham, Everton, and Leicester, it is expected that Overy would accept the offer and relocate from Devon to Manchester.

Manchester United are known for its top-notch academy, and young scouts are always searching for youngsters who have the ability to make the first squad.

Gifted young players are given these scholarship offers, which are a big step towards maybe getting an offer for a professional deal that can be signed at the age of 17.

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This season, Manchester United’s youth team have been dominant, winning three titles, two of which came at the expense of Manchester City. Given these achievements, Overy is probably going to be a member of this U18 team’s winning squad in 2024–2025.

The academy has recovered fairly well from a spell of subpar performance. In December 2019, Nick Cox assumed the role of Head of the Academy, marking a significant shift.

During a chat with the MEN earlier this month, Cox detailed the secret behind their impressive turnaround. “I think it’s really simple,” he shared.

“It’s about having good players, so get your recruitment right, having good coaches that know the game and their job, and the wider staff as well who deeply care about young people.”

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