Manchester United’s academy has produced some great British players over the years – but what about the special young players that aren’t from these shores?
United have scouts in lots of different countries and they look to bring the world’s best and most exciting young talents to Old Trafford.
We’ve taken a look at the eight non-British or Irish players to win United’s Under-18s Player of the Year award and how they’ve fared since.
Bojan Djordjic
Djordjic, who was born in Serbia, made six first-team appearances for Brommapojkarna in his adopted home of Sweden before joining United at the age of 17 in 1999.
The winger won the Under-18s Player of the Year award in his debut season and was even compared to Ryan Giggs but failed to live up to that initial promise.
He made his Premier League debut in a 3-1 defeat against Tottenham in May 2001, while his second and final United appearance came in a 4-0 loss to Arsenal.
After leaving Old Trafford in January 2005, he then embarked on a nomadic career with spells in the Football League, Scotland, Denmark, Serbia, Hungary, Belgium, Sweden and India.
“It has taken me a long time to come to terms with what happened at United,” Djordjic later told the Daily Mail. “I was 17 and people were expecting big things. I wish I’d worked harder. I wasn’t lazy but I didn’t go the extra mile.
“If we were running, I’d be happy to coast in the middle of the group rather than to try to get to the front, to make myself fitter. I rarely missed a chance to go out and hit the bars and clubs.”
Jonathan Spector
After playing for the American Under-17 squad at the Milk Cup in 2003, Spector impressed United’s scouts and later won the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year in his debut season.
He made his senior debut against Arsenal in the 2004 Community Shield, becoming the first American outfield player to turn out for United.
But that was one of just eight United appearances for the…
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