Toby Collyer has taken to Instagram to confirm his signing with Manchester United.
The 18 year old midfielder, joining from Brighton & Hove Albion, has signed a three and a half year deal according to Fabrizio Romano.
Having failed to come to an agreement on new terms with Brighton, the midfielder has spent recent months trialling with a number of clubs including Manchester United and Chelsea.
It was United who would win out in the race though and Collyer has said “delighted to join this great club, can’t wait to get started!”
A key factor in his signing will have been United’s head of first team development, Justin Cochrane, who joined the club last summer.
Cochrane and Collyer know each other well from Cochrane’s time as England’s u16s and u17s manager, where he regularly included the midfielder in his squads.
A defensive midfielder by trade, the England youth international also has experience at centre back.
Collyer was a key member of Brighton’s u18s last season, making 24 appearances for this side and was awarded his u23s debut just a week after his 17th birthday.
After turning down contract renewals at Brighton, Cochrane was on high alert for his former player, inviting him to trials with United in February.
A hard working player, former Brighton academy coach Mark Beard has said “he gets on with his job. He regularly put in displays of 8/10 at the least. He had the best running stats, runs 13 kilometres a game, breaks things up. He is so unassuming, he gets on with his job. You want 11 of these type of players in the team. You know what you’re going to get in training, he works hard, he wants to improve, he’s intelligent. He’s a good all-round kid.”
Expanding on his talents, Beard added he “has a good range of passing, his fitness is superb, he is excellent in a defensive capacity and he reads the game so well.”
Expected to join United’s u23s squad next season, there is great excitement to see how United’s new midfield signing will settle in and how Cochrane will shape his development.