Manchester United recently announced that Angelo Henriquez has been granted a governing body endorsement which will allow the striker to register and play for the club.
Three years ago, nearly to the date, Angelo Henriquez came to Manchester for a trial with the Red Devils.
United were impressed with him and agreed to have him over at Carrington twice a year for informal trials so they could monitor his progress. Eventually this lead to the agreement of a first option on the player – a pre-agreed fee of roughly £3m meant that United could choose any point up until the player’s 20th birthday to make the deal permanent, providing the formalities of a medical and work permit went smoothly.
In addition to impressing for Universidad de Chile in the Copa Libertadores, he also shone for his country at the recent Milk Cup youth tournament in Northern Ireland, scoring twice against the home nation in a 5-3 win.
Henriquez has already expressed his delight at signing for United after the club followed up a long-standing interest in the Chilean youngster.
Club: Universidad de Chile
Age: 18 years old
Position: Striker
Bio
Henríquez began his football career at Universidad de Chile aged just 13, taking up the sport after he had stopped playing tennis.
Henriquez made ??his professional debut in June 27, 2011, at 17 years olf in a match against Union San Felipe. In the same month, he was chosen by Four Four Two magazing as one of the top five Under 17 players in the world due to its speed and ease of finding space in the game.
In the same season, Henriquez was recognized as the best center forward in the Championsip, having been chosen by 585 players from the three divisions of Chilean football.
He netted 10 times during this tournament allowed him to finish second in the top scorers table.
On 27 June 2011, Henríquez made his professional debut for the club in a Copa Chile Universidad were victorious in this match, beating Unión San Felipe 1–0.
He has played for both the U-15 and U-17 Chilean National teams and is expected to be raised to the national team very shortly. In 2012, Henriquez played a total of 17 times scoring 12 goals.
Conclusion
Once again, it seems Sir Alex Ferguson has pipped Manchester City to another singing. Although United had a pre-contract agreement with the club, it’s understood Mancini were making preparations for a counter bid.
The 18-year-old will played his final game for Universidad de Chile against Santos on Wednesday evening and a further announcement on him joining the Reds will be made in due course.
Henriquez will definitely be a player to watch out for within the next few seasons. Expect him to feature in United’s cup fixtures and the early Champions League stages.
Obviously he won’t be ready to step into the first team upon arrival at Old Trafford. But under the watchful eye of Sir Alex he could become an important player for the club in years to come.
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