By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
TalkSport’s Ben Jacobs has made the remarkable claim that Manchester United have been contemplating a bid for West Ham youngster Ollie Scarles.
The left-back broke into the Hammers first team under former manager Graham Potter and was given game time when Nuno Espírito Santo first arrived at the club.
Unfortunately for Scarles, Nuno deployed him in an experimental right-back role to disastrous consequences, and we’ve seen little of the FA Youth Cup winner since.
A Surprise Link
Therefore, it was somewhat surprising to hear Jacobs mention that Scarles has been monitored at Old Trafford.
Speaking on YouTube, the TalkSport journalist said:
“Man U have assessed some young names like Oliver Scarles at West Ham United as a full-back option who’s relatively versatile.”
The comments came during an appearance by Ben Jacobs on YouTube.
Interesting stuff, and certainly the first I’ve heard of it.
Scarles has attracted the attention of Manchester United
We’ve Heard This Before
Manager Michael Carrick was believed to be a fan of fellow West Ham left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf but, surprise, surprise… the rumoured bid never materialised.
Whether there is any truth in the Scarles rumour, I’ll let the Claret & Hugh readers decide.
But there is one thing we do know.
There has been an awful lot of talk about Manchester United buying West Ham players this summer.
So far, however, all that talk hasn’t resulted in a single actual offer.
Until it does, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to take these links too seriously.
Why wouldn’t they be interested? I thought he was class for a 20 year old the last two seasons, and is the exact kind of hungry homegrown player we’ll need to bounce right back. Diouf did well, too, but he’ll fetch a much higher fee and probably doesn’t want anything to do with the second tier. I think Scarles will thrive in the Championship and hopefully with the Hammers in the Premier League the season after.
it just really makes me wonder who else manchester echo are not going to buy off of us Kris x
If Man Utd are interested in Scarles, I would suggest that it’s similar to the interest Man City had in Mubama. That is they qualify as homegrown and have shown promise, that means they can be sold off at 100% profit helping PSR calculations after spending time in the academy and/or out on loan.
There’s a difference between being homegrown and then selling them for “100% profit”. You can’t buy a homegrown player and then expect 100% profit,he has to have been at his parent club for some considerable time otherwise any club could buy a homegrown player and sell him for 100% profit.