Man Utd sign exciting midfield prodigy David Eze in more heartache for Man City

Manchester United have pulled off a massive coup with the sizing of exciting midfield prodigy David Eze in more pain for Manchester City.

The central midfielder has made the short journey across Manchester after progressing through City’s academy and has now committed his future to United.

The club confirmed the move on Saturday, announcing: “Talented youngster David Eze has joined Manchester United.

“The central midfielder has joined the club after leaving Manchester City. The 16-year-old, who progressed through the academy system at City, has also been capped by England at youth level.

“Everyone wishes David the best of luck at United and welcomes him to the club.”

Eze has been regarded as one of the promising young midfielders to emerge from City’s academy and attracted interest from United earlier this year.

He is capable of operating in a number of midfield roles, with his physicality, technique and ability to carry the ball helping him stand out at youth level.

The teenager was born in Dublin and is also eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland, but has chosen to represent England at youth level. He has already been involved with England’s Under-16 setup.

His arrival represents another example of United attracting promising young players from rival academies.

United have already completed the signing of City academy midfielder Karim Cassim, while Isaac Konde has also joined from Liverpool.

The club's academy recruitment has been particularly active as it looks to strengthen the talent available to Darren Fletcher's Under-18s and create a stronger pipeline towards the senior squad.

Eze now begins the next stage of his development at Carrington, where he will look to establish himself within United's academy structure before eventually pushing towards Under-21 and first-team football.

The move is also another chapter in the growing movement of young talent between the two Manchester clubs, with United having previously brought Jack and Tyler Fletcher across from City's academy.

And the move comes as City have "been found guilty of breaking the majority of the 115 Premier League financial rules they were accused of breaching" by an independent panel.

And the ramifications of the breaches could be significant for the club - including possibilities of trophies taken away and relegation - but first City will appeal the charges.

In total, City were charged with 115 breaches of Premier League regulations.

The 115 charges have been broken down to five different categories.

• 54x Failure to provide accurate financial information 2009-10 to 2017-18.

• 14x Failure to provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18.

• 5x Failure to comply with Uefa's rules including Financial Fair Play (FFP) 2013-14 to 2017-18.

• 7x Breaching Premier League's PSR rules 2015-16 to 2017-18.

• 35x Failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations December 2018 - Feb 2023.