Exciting youngster Lasse Abildgaard has confirmed he had a trial with
Manchester United at Carrington before deciding to sign for Ajax last summer. United's academy is one of the best in the world and the club's scouts are tasked with identifying young players who could join the renowned set-up in Manchester. Alejandro Garnacho was signed for a nominal fee from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2020 and he's now an established first-team player. United will also make a profit on a potential sale of Alvaro Fernandez to Benfica and the full-back joined in the same year as Garnacho. ALSO READ: My world came crashing down - but now I'm thriving on loan ALSO READ: 'I don't want to add fuel to the fire' - Bellingham's verdict on Mainoo The academy's aim is to develop players for the first team and signing young talent from around the world to play alongside 'local youngsters' has proved to be a successful strategy. Abildgaard, 17, came close to joining United last year but he chose to sign for Ajax instead, as he recently explained in an interview with Danish outlet Tipsbladet . "It is of course great to be allowed to join such a club, and to be good enough for such a big club to believe in you," he said about his move to Ajax. “Every day you come in, there are expensive cars, you see the Ajax logo, there are [security] guards outside, there are a lot of training sessions. It’s just great to put on the Ajax training clothes. “I heard about [Ajax’s] interest a long time ago. And then it was like just a process between the club and my family and my advisor about how it should go, and things like that. “I also went to trial training down there [at United] to see what it was like, and we ended up making the decision that it was the best for me.” Abildgaard joined Ajax from Silkeborg IF, which meant relocating from Denmark to the Netherlands. He admitted the move has been challenging and that could explain why he was reluctant to move further away to Manchester. "It has been a bit difficult to move away from home and away from your
Friends and the safe environment," he added. "It takes some time to settle in, but it's going reasonably well now, and I talk well with my teammates and my coach. "My mother also lives down here with me most of the time, so there is also a somewhat safe environment to come home to after training."