Man Utd watch wonderkid with Grealish likeness ‘all the time’

Robin Bairner

22 May 2024 12:00 BST
3 min read

Jack Grealish, Man City, Malick Yalcouye, Goteborg, 2023/24 — © IMAGO

Manchester United are in the hunt to sign IFK Goteborg wonderkid Malick Yalcouye, who is tipped to double the Swedish side’s record sale.

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United were among the teams in the crowd as the 18-year-old Yalcouye played the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 Allsvenskan victory over Mjallby on Tuesday.

The Old Trafford side are not the only club watching him, with Expressen reporting “concrete interest” from Ajax and PSV, while Liverpool were scouting him.

STATS

Malick Junior Yalcouyé

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Goteborg

Malick Junior Yalcouyé

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Goteborg

10

Games
1

Goals
1

Assists

As well as Manchester United, Bologna, Copenhagen and Bayern Munich watched him against Mjallby.

“Oh my God, yes, these clubs are watching him all the time,” Ola Larsson, the technical director of Goteborg, is quoted as saying.

“I always think he is our best player. I think he is completely superior and I also think he always has another level in his body. If went to a top-five league, who knows what he could become?

“If we receive an offer we cannot refuse then we will sell.”

READ MORE: Latest Man Utd transfer rumours

The Mali-born midfielder only arrived at Goteborg in January but his new club are already eyeing a potential record sale.

Expressen reports that Goteborg hope to double their record sale when Yalcouye moves on. They are aiming for a fee in the €8.6 million region.

Yalcouye’s Grealish tendency

Man Utd and the other scouts watching Yalcouye would have been impressed with what they witnessed on Tuesday.

The teenager played an important role in the game for his side, winning six fouls from a central midfield area. Such a figure is not alien to him this season, with the youngster winning 4.9 free kicks per game in the 10-match-old league campaign.

In comparison, this is higher than the figures that Jack Grealish was picking up during his time with Aston Villa, when he was famed for the number of free kicks he won. The England winger’s highest figure in the Premier League was 4.65 fouls won per 90.

Unlike Grealish, though Yalcouye is not typically a winger. He has featured off the right for Gothenburg this season but more typically plays a central role.