Manchester United's players shake hands with Leicester City's players ahead of their Premier League clash in March.
Ayden Heaven (centre) has soon made his mark at Old Trafford.
After just six appearances in a Manchester United shirt, it is already fair to say Ayden Heaven has made a positive impression in M16.
Signed from Arsenal in the closing stages of the January transfer window, most United supporters were left turning to Google to find out more about the 18-year-old centre-back, who had made just one competitive appearance for the Londoners.
United drafted him in for an undisclosed fee, thought to be in the region of £1.5million, and it was anticipated that he would begin his United career by trying to prove himself in the Under-21s.
Instead, United communicated that he was a signing for the first-team. Just a handful of appearances into his M16 career, it is easy to understand why.
After a frustrating period with injuries recently, Heaven made his first start in a little over two months when United beat Aston Villa 2-0 in their final Premier League game of the season on Sunday afternoon.
He was deployed on the left of the back-three and he did not put a foot wrong. He completed five clearances, produced three interceptions, won one tackle and completed 91 per cent of his attempted passes.
It marked another accomplished showing from the teenager, who was praised by head coach Ruben Amorim in a post-match chat with MUTV.
"Once again, Jason Wilcox is doing a great job," Amorim said. "Bringing Ayden... it is these kind of players that we need because he show a lot of character and quality after a big injury.
"We want this kind of player."
Ayden Heaven has huge potential. (Image: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images.)
For all of United's faults on the recruitment front in recent years, they continue to be able to attract some of the country's hottest talent. Chido Obi swapped Arsenal for United last year at the age of 16 and he has already made eight appearances, including a first Premier League start.
Low-risk, high-reward signings offer United the opportunity to integrate youngsters into their first-team squad with the ambition of them establishing themselves as Premier League players. Heaven has made four league appearances for United thus far and not once has he looked out of place.
What is most striking about the youngster is his calmness. He never gets flustered with or without the ball, with his composure really impressive.
Furthermore, his profile as a left-footed centre-back is another feather in his cap. Left-footed centre-backs are often difficult to find nowadays.
With a full pre-season under his belt this summer, there is no reason why Heaven cannot become a regular starter next season. Of course, it is important not too load too much pressure on young shoulders too soon, but he already looks like a real find for United.
His composure prompted Amorim, after Heaven had made his first appearance for United in March, to comment on just how struck he was by how calm he was.
Ayden Heaven oozes class on the ball. (Image: Richard Callis/Sports Press Photo/Getty Images.)
"Ayden is so relaxed, he seems so relaxed that sometimes he is too relaxed," Amorim quipped "But I think we have a player there. So now we have to control, to tell him that it was just a game etc. etc."
Signing a player of Heaven's profile is just the sort of area in which United co-chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe aspires of shopping in. When discussing United's recruitment errors of yesteryear in March last year, he outlined his desire to try and unearth hidden talent that was simmering just beneath the surface.
"What I would rather do is find the next [Kylian] Mbappe, rather than spend a fortune just trying to buy success," Ratcliffe told the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast. "It's not that clever, is it, buying Mbappe, in a way?
"Anybody could figure that one out. But what's much more challenging is to to find the next Mbappe, the next [Jude] Bellingham or the next Roy Keane."
Having set the goal of attempting to find young, unestablished talent, Ratcliffe will be hoping United can find another player in the same mould as Heaven this summer.
Of course, United need to bring in proven and ready-made talent, just as their pursuit of Matheus Cunha highlights, but there will always be room for them to try and add young talent to their ranks for minimal fees.
More and more clubs are targeting young players in the hope of them fulfilling their potential and becoming either first-team operators or players that can be sold for a much higher fee than the buying cost.
Heaven is a prime example of what can be found when looking at young talent.