Man Utd-bound? INEOS wonderkid steals the show at U19 Euros

Tom Weber

Updated: 23 Jul 2024 15:19 BST
3 min read

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Man Utd, 2023/24 — © IMAGO

Italy youngster Simone Pafundi has attracted the attention of scouts with his performances at the U19 European Championship, according to a report.

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Italy's U19 have reached the semi-final stage of the competition and will come up against Spain on July 25. A lot of the headlines have been about AC Milan wonderkid Francesco Camarda, who recently scored a brace against Northern Ireland.

Camarda had been in demand due to his outrageous scoring record at the youth level, but Milan have managed to tie him down to his first professional contract.

READ MORE: Man Utd could RE-SIGN former star

The striker is far from the only Italian to have caught the eye, however. According to The Athletic, Udinese starlet Simone Pafundi has impressed and attracted the attention of scouts.

Future Man Utd star?

What makes this interesting, of course, is the fact that Pafundi is currently in the orbit of Man Utd part-owners INEOS. Though contracted to Serie A side Udinese, Pafundi has actually spent the past six months on loan at Lausanne-Sport, the Swiss side owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

The 18-year-old is the Italian national team's youngest-ever senior debutant, having played for the first team in 2022 aged 16. His move to Lausanne, with the Swiss club having a purchase option, was seen as a ploy by INEOS to land one of Europe's biggest talents with a view to eventually moving him on to one of their other clubs, Nice or Man Utd.

Pafundi, who is still loaned to Lausanne until the winter, arrived in Switzerland before Ratcliffe had officially completed his Man Utd investment, so he had to be parked elsewhere first.

The expectation is that his loan will be made permanent, the €15 million purchase option in his deal set to make him the Swiss Super League's record incoming by some distance.

Pafundi notched a brace of assists in Italy's opening U19 Euro game against Norway after finishing the qualifying campaign with five goals and two assists in six matches.