Manchester United have finally announced the signing of a new U18 talent, Charlie Hardy, from Derby County.
The 16-year-old is one of England’s hottest goalkeeping prospects, and his move to Manchester United has been months in the making.
Charlie Hardy confirmed his Derby exit back in September. Then, in October, United completed the signing of Hardy, with a lot of excitement over his addition by those who are familiar.
Andy Mitten confirmed United had been after Hardy for a while, and he was expected to step straight into the U18 side once ready for action.
Now, the England U18 goalkeeper has taken to Instagram to confirm the deal with his new teammates, reacting.
Charlie Hardy training with England U16
Photo by Angel Martinez – The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Charlie Hardy confirms Manchester United move as new teammates respond
On Friday, United’s deal to sign Charlie Hardy was officially official as he was pictured at Carrington.
WHO is the most UNDERRATED academy talent at Manchester United right now? 🤔🔥
JJ Gabriel and Shea Lacey are obviously exciting but who else are you excited by?
Amir Ibragimov leads team talk for Manchester United U18s.
Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images
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Taking to his Instagram with an image of himself signing his United contract and also alongside the academy director Stephen Torpey, Hardy sent a message.
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“Proud to sign for Man Utd, the hard work continues”, Hardy captioned the post which perfectly showcases how excited he is to be joining United.
In the comments, Hardy had some of his new teammates reacting, which isn’t a shock considering he has probably been at Carrington for weeks.
James Overy wrote, “Congrats bro”. Meanwhile, Samuel Lusale added, “Toppp” with a heart emoji.
Jack Fletcher commented a praise emoji, with Yuel Helafu sending a heart. Jay McEvoy also commented, writing “Chazza” along with a heart.
Another comment came from United’s former head of academy recruitment Luke Federenko, writing “congratulations Charlie”, with a clapping emoji.
Charlie Hardy debut could be imminent for Manchester United U18
While he is only 16, Hardy will have ambitions to make himself United’s starting U18 goalkeeper immediately once he is ready to play and he has a good chance to do so.
Darren Fletcher’s U18 side is very young, as JJ Gabriel is a prime example of, and he is willing fast track players which Hardy is good enough to do, skipping the U17s.
Cameron Byrne-Hughes is the current first choice for United at U18 level, but if Hardy is as good as expected, we expect there will be a desire to immediately push him to the front of the queue and potentially even U21 football later this season depending on how he fares.
Hardy has all the tools to be an excellent shot stopper and a future England international, but the hard work begins now.
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