Man Utd legend wants to sign his own SONS

Tom Weber

• Updated: 16 Jun 2023 19:48 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United are trying to sign the sons of their technical director, according to the Athletic.

The Red Devils appointed former player and five-time Premier League champion Darren Fletcher as the club's technical director in 2021. Despite his lengthy spell with United, his twin sons, Tyler and Jack, are part of the Manchester City academy - but perhaps not for much longer.

According to the Athletic, Fletcher and United's recruitment team are trying to engineer a deal to bring the 16-year-olds to Old Trafford, opening talks last week. The report goes on to say that City are keen to keep hold of the precocious midfielders, so the deal will involve what is described as a "substantial fee."

Fletcher is just one of a host of former United players to have at one point or another enrolled their kids in the illustrious City youth set-up, a list that includes Wayne Rooney and Phil Neville. United, however, do also have a history of developing their ex-players' children.

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Ryan Giggs' 16-year-old son, for example, has been part of the Red Devils' academy since the age of 12. He will join newly-promoted Sheffield United this summer. Cristiano Jr was also on United's books when his megastar father featured at Old Trafford before his Al-Nassr switch.

Nepotism babies or wonderkids?

If United can pull off the deal for the Fletcher twins, it will be something of a coup for the Red Devils. Far from mere nepotism babies, Jack and Tyler are seen as two of the UK's biggest prospects at their age level, having helped City dominate English youth football.

Funnily enough, the two played against each other earlier in the year, with Jack lining up for England's U16s, while Tyler featured for Scotland, like his dad. England won 3-0.

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Though both are midfielders, it is Jack whose playstyle more closely resembles that of their father.