Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere, but here it is-
United capture Roma prodigy
Quote:
Teenage striker Davide Petrucci admits the chance to swap Roma for Manchester United was simply too good to turn down.
The 16-year-old, who was top scorer in Roma’s youth team last season and has drawn comparisons with Francesco Totti, opted to leave his boyhood club after being offered wages in the region of £16,000 a year – the maximum permissible for a youth-team player.
The move has caused consternation in the Italian capital, with Il Romanista, a newspaper dedicated to Roma, labelling the loss ‘a nightmare.’
Although Petrucci admits it was a wrench to leave the club, he could not hide his excitement at the prospect of linking up with the United youth academy on July 1.
“A month ago Roma offered me a contract at the minimum rate, without clarifying whether it would be for three or five years," he said.
“I asked for a bit of time to think about it, Man Utd had already made their proposal, but Roma only gave me three days and left me out of the squad. To a certain extent they closed the door on me while Man Utd opened a big door.
“You can’t just forget six years at Roma. I was born a Roma fan and I will be one for the rest of my life.
"But this is a great opportunity, I'm going to to the strongest club in the world. It was difficult to say no, even if I would have been very happy to spend my whole career at Roma.”
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I haven't seen him play but what I've read, he sounds like a promising youngster. He's likened to a young Francesco Totti, which can only be a good thing if he develops like the real one. I just hope United nurture him properly and give him his opportunity in the first team when the time comes instead of doing what they did with Rossi.