Man Utd set to wrap up Toby Collyer transfer after beating Chelsea and West Ham to Brighton wonderkid
MANCHESTER UNITED are set to sign Brighton wonderkid Toby Collyer, the teenager confirmed.
The 18-year-old had also been attracting interest from Chelsea and West Ham.
But after the defensive midfielder impressed on a trial with the Red Devils, Fabrizio Romano reported contracts have been signed for a three-and-a-half-year deal.
Collyer’s contract at Brighton expires in the summer and the two parties failed to agree terms on a new deal.
The versatile youngster, who can also play at centre-back, joined Albion aged 12 and made his Under-18s debut aged 15.
But now the 18-year-old is poised for a move to Old Trafford.
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And he all but confirmed the switch by posting a photo of a United home shirt complete with ‘Collyer 6’ printed on the back – the same number as Paul Pogba, whose contract expires this summer.
Mark Beard coached Collyer during their time together with Brighton U18s.
And he told Sussex Live he reckons the former England U16s and U17s captain is the best in his position across the country at his age.
Beard said: “You could see he was going to be a top-class player.
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“He plays like two men sometimes. As defensive midfielders go, and it is quite a disciplined role, he is probably the best in the country at doing it.
“He is a pleasure to coach. He is so low maintenance, what I mean by that is you don’t know he is there.
“He gets on with his job. He regularly put in displays of eight out of ten at the least.
“He had the best running stats, runs 13 kilometres a game, breaks things up. He is so unassuming, he gets on with his job.
“You want 11 of these type of players in the team. You know what you’re going to get in training, he works hard, he wants to improve, he’s intelligent. He’s a good all-round kid.”