Football Wonderkid Scout

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has set about an ambitious new two-and-a-half year project to develop their own talent in South America, rather than splash out on the increasing transfer fees of the next generation of stars. Hoping to find the next Kaka, Pato or Neymar, the Old Trafford outfit have signed a partnership deal with Sao Paulo academy Desportivo Brasil which will see them supplied with a steady stream of talent. Under the deal, Manchester United will send the most promising youngsters to affiliated Dutch side FC Twente who will act as a holding club for the boys in order to gain first team experience and European Union passports. Manchester United intend to sign any successful youngsters from the feeder system once they gain EU status after a few years in Holland.

Having already taken Rafael and Fabio da Silva to the club after identifying their talents at the age of 15, Manchester United aim to capitalise on the constant production line of talent from Brazil. Desportivo Brasil are owned by South American football company Traffic, whose president of international business Jochen Losch spoke to Sportsmail: ‘Twente are a partner, helping United to resolve the problem of their EU passports. For two reasons it’s good that a player goes first to Holland. First, after two or three years he’s considered to be European. And of course it’s easier to play in the Dutch league than the Premier League.’ The talented youth all