Manchester United were able to secure the signature of Tahith Chong despite interest from Chelsea.

The 19-year-old arrived at the United academy a couple years ago.

He had already been spotted years before as a talented youngster, even when he was 14. And the former head of recruitment at United has revealed how the player was secured.

Derek Langley told the Manchester Evening News: "Tahith was spotted when he was a 14/15-year-old playing in a tournament at Carrington. What used to be the Nike Premier Cup.

"He had already been tipped by our scouts in Holland and basically I followed him at that tournament and then I followed him all over Europe.

"Tahith's parents would be the first to tell you that his form dipped slightly due to growth issues so at that time, so I just held fire. I carried on watching him and realised his form was coming back.

"He was on the verge of signing for Chelsea and I managed to convince his parents and the boy his future lie at United."