According to recent reports from world-famous football journalist, Fabrizio Romano, Manchester United have failed in their hunt to sign a Championship youngster who was highly rated by Wayne Rooney.
The player in question is none other than 18-year-old, Malcolm Ebiowei, who played for Derby County last season.
In his tweet, Fabrizio Romano said on the situation of Malcolm Ebiowei:
"English talent Malcolm Ebiowei won’t join Manchester United. He’s set to sign his contract with Crystal Palace after medicals completed this week, it’s a done deal.Ebiowei will leave Derby County to join Palace – contract will be valid until June 2027.(Via Twitter.com)"
Crystal Palace and Several Top Clubs Wanted Malcolm Ebiowei
Coming off an impressive campaign for Derby County, Ebiowei attracted a lot of interest from Premier League clubs including Manchester United and Crystal Palace, even AS Monaco was said to be interested in him.
The Arsenal academy graduate spent a year with Rangers after leaving the Gunners’ academy and before joining Derby County. Soon after joining Derby, he earned the praise of several plaudits, including his own manager Wayne Rooney.
The ex-England and Manchester United player had this to say about the young player after his phenomenal performance against Coventry on the 19th of March, 2022:
"I thought he was excellent all game – the best player on the pitch. It was one of the best performances I have seen from a young player, consistently for 90 minutes, in a long time.via LWOS.com"
Malcolm Ebiowei’s Numbers Make Him an Exciting Premier League Addition
In that game, he had 74 touches (2nd highest), 30 passes, 2 key passes (2nd highest), 4 crosses, 9 successful dribbles (highest), 3 fouls drawn (highest), and 14 ground duels won (highest) and 2 shots taken.
His overall stats in the Championship also look quite good. In 16 appearances, the youngster scored once and assisted twice. His xG was 2.05, while he created a total of 19 chances. He also delivered 0.9 successful crosses per 90, while having 3 successful dribbles per 90 (highest in the league).
In the under-18 Premier League, he was even better, scoring 7 times and assisting once in only 7 appearances. He is a very physically strong player with a lot of pace. As you can see from his dribbling statistics, he is not afraid of taking on his man and beating him.
He also has very good control of the ball and his left foot is said to be magical. He predominantly features on the right-wing, where we think he will probably play for Crystal Palace also. If he does complete his move before the weekend, he will be the Eagles’ first summer addition.
If not, Palace are almost ready to announce the arrival of goalkeeper, Sam Johnstone, who was released from West Bromwich. He will join them on a four-year deal.
Malcolm Ebiowei becomes the latest casualty in Manchester United’s transfer hunt. Darwin Nunez snubbed the Red Devils to join Liverpool, while Frenkie De Jong does not look close to joining them either.
However, the number of players they are linked with remains high. The list currently includes names like Ruben Neves, Antony and Christian Eriksen.
Do you think Ebiowei will be able to settle in at Crystal Palace? Who do you think Manchester United will end up signing this season?
All stats are taken from Job4football.com