Highly-rated teenager turned down Man Utd after week trial to join 'big club'

A highly-rated youngster described as one of the most talented players of his generation in Scandinavia turned down a move to Manchester United.

Lasse Abildgaard, a regular youth international for Denmark, revealed in a recent interview that he spent a week on trial at Carrington last year.

The 17-year-old impressed a host of clubs while playing for Silkeborg IF youth academy, including Austrian side RB Salzburg, who offered Abildgaard a trial.

But after plenty of deliberation, the youngster decided to join Eredivisie giants Ajax.

Speaking to Tipsbladet, Abildgaard opened up on his decision.

"I went to trial training down there [at Manchester United] to see what it was like," he said. "We ended up making the decision that it was the best for me [to join Ajax instead]."

Lasse Abildgaard (2007) seems to have settled in well at #Ajax and recently scored twice for the U17s.

Such an exciting talent. 💎pic.twitter.com/F6JEik6wpJ

— Danish Scout (@DanishScout_) February 7, 2024

Abildgaard also spoke about life at Ajax, saying: "It is of course great to be allowed to join such a club, and to be good enough for such a big club to believe in you.

"Every day you come in, there are expensive cars, you see the Ajax logo, there are [security] guards outside, there are a lot of training sessions.

"It’s just great to put on the Ajax training clothes every day. I heard about [Ajax’s] interest a long time ago.

"And then it was like just a process between the club and my family and my advisor about how it should go, and things like that."

Another player who recently opened up on having trials at Manchester United is Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli.

The Brazilian, who played in a friendly match for United against Lincoln City, where he played the final 30 minutes of the game alongside the likes of Brandon Williams, admitted to being "anxious" during his time at Carrington.

"From 2015 to 2017, I went to train there [at United] four times for around 15 days at a time," he told ESPN Brasil.

"As everyone trains at the same training centre and is in the same cafeteria, I saw all the professionals.

"I asked to take pictures for [Patrice] Evra, [Marouane] Fellaini and others. [Paul] Pogba knew I was Brazilian and asked if everything was OK and where I played. We took a picture together."