Roundtable understands that Manchester United have signed Tyler Adjei from Reading, and he is set to join Darren Fletcher's Under 18s side, but will need time to get match fit. 

The Red Devils fought off interest from three other English clubs, including Liverpool, to sign the 16-year-old, who is known to be a versatile attacker. 

Sources say that Adjei is highly rated within England's youth setup and has previously played for the Under 15s side. 

United will be happy to have finally landed Adjei, given the deal has been in the works for some time. 

Adjei will be a good option for the Under 18s after they lost Louie Bradbury to Stoke City in the summer. 

Man Utd have stepped up youth recruitment 

Manchester United won a triple transfer race in the summer, with Karim Cassim, David Eze and Issac Konde all moving to Old Trafford from rivals Manchester City (Cassim and Eze) and Liverpool (Konde). 

Looking up an age group, Cristian Orozco and Kit Margeston also moved to United, adding to the talent in the academy age groups. 

While some have criticised the club for a lack of recruitment in the first team – pointing towards a lack of depth at left-back and centre-forward – youth recruitment has continued, and potentially even stepped up, under the INEOS regime. 

Sékou Koné, who moved to United early in INEO44S' tenure, is enjoying his second loan spell away from the club at Lausanne-Sport. He has made 12 appearances this term, with one goal and one assist. 

Enzo Kana-Biyik is another Manchester United youngster who has played for the Swiss side. He has returned to Old Trafford this season and is featuring regularly for Adam Lawrence's Under 21s side. 

The Athletic have reported that United are looking for high-potential talents who could reach the first team relatively quickly. 

Mauricio Pochettino's academy record

Mauricio Pochettino has been officially announced as the new Manchester United head coach, replacing Michael Carrick, who was sacked alongside the "extremely arrogant" Steve Holland, "popular" Travis Binnion, and most of the other first-team coaches. 

During his time as Tottenham Hotspur manager, Pochettino gave more debuts (12) to players aged 21 or under than any other manager. 

That will be music to the ears to Tyler Adjei and the rest of the Under 18s and Under 21s players. 

Michael Carrick was no stranger to handing out debuts, with Tyler Fletcher given his first appearance last season, but had come under criticism for his use, or lack of, Shea Lacey.