Manchester United coaches have been stunned by Charlie McNeill's training performances following his summer switch from City.
McNeill, 17, scored twice on his debut for the Under-18s in their 4-0 win at Derby County last month and sources at Carrington say McNeill has been 'ridiculously good' in training sessions.
Boyhood United fan McNeill used to be in the club's academy before he moved to City in 2014 but returned to Carrington in the summer for an initial fee of £750,000 that could rise to £1.5million. McNeill rejected the offer of a new contract at City.
United sources say McNeill would represent an 'absolute bargain' if he costs the full £1.5m as he would have to play in a significant amount of first-team games and record noteworthy achievements to trigger the clauses.
As McNeill did not turn 17 in September any teams that wanted to sign him still had to negotiate a fee with his former club or risk a tribunal deciding McNeill's value. McNeill is credited with 600 goals at youth level and he has been capped by England Under-16s.
The United academy recruited aggressively in the summer, signing Spaniards Marc Jurado, Alvaro Fernandez and Alejandro Garnacho, as well as Willy Kambwala from Sochaux for up to €4million.
Joe Hugill and Logan Pye arrived from Sunderland and have already appeared for the Under-23s, as has Fernandez. United also acquired Norwegian Isak Hansen-Aaroen and goalkeeper Radek Vitek.
United U18s next take on Everton at Carrington on Saturday.
