Who is Manchester United’s new signing Millen Baars?
Manchester United have taken their latest step in strengthening the club’s academy set-up under Nicky Butt with the signing of Millen Baars.
Here’s all you need to know about the Reds’ new winger.
Who is Millen Baars?
The 16-year-old has been without a club since the summer after leaving Ajax – having reportedly clashed with coaches in at the club’s academy.
He is the third Dutchman to leave the Netherlands for United’s academy in recent years, following in the footsteps of Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Tahith Chong.
It’s become a growing problem for Dutch football as a whole, with Javairo Dilrosun (Manchester City), Donyell Malen (Arsenal) and Juan Familia Castillo (Chelsea) all leaving their homeland in recent years.
Baars has already changed his Instagram profile photo and description
Despite his tender age, Baars is represented by the Stellar Group, who also handle Luke Shaw, Daley Blind and Fosu-Mensah.
The teenager will be eligible to play for Kieran McKenna’s under-18’s side after he receives international clearance in January.
How did they find him?
Dutchman Marcel Bout, who was formerly an opposition scout under Louis van Gaal, became the club’s chief scout in October, 2016.
Interestingly, Bout was the only member of van Gaal’s backroom team kept on by new boss Jose Mourinho.
Bout oversees United’s scouting operations so he may have had an influence on the latest signing in United’s academy shake-up.
What his father said
“We have had talks with Ajax that were between Millen and the club,” his father told Noordhollands Dagblad. “But it was certainly nothing shocking, he was even appointed captain this season of the B1.
“Ajax is a great club with a very good youth, but they can unfortunately not cope so very well. You saw in the past with other youth players who now play at other clubs. But Millen was ready for a different challenge.
“He played nine seasons in Amsterdam and he has always had the dream to play football in England.
“There was interest from Italy, Portugal and England, but when he was at Chelsea and United to look, he knew he wanted to play in Manchester. He did not even see Arsenal, his choice was made.”
