MANCHESTER UNITED are closing in on the signing of Colombia Under-17 captain Cristian Orozco.
Orozco, a defensive midfielder, only joined current club Fortaleza in the summer but United have moved swiftly to strike a deal for the 17-year-old.
Manchester United are signing Colombia Under-17 captain Cristian Orozco
Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim will have Fortaleza ace Orozco next yearDavid Blunsden/Action Plus/Shutterstock
The Colombia youth international has played nine times for the U17s this year and Orozco is scheduled to move to Manchester next year after he turns 18 in July.
United raided the South American market earlier this year for 18-year-old left-back Diego Leon, who arrived in the summer.
Four-and-a-half years ago, United seemed set to buy Moises Caicedo from Independiente del Valle but backed off due to interference from various agents.
Man Utd also felt Caicedo’s asking price of £5.5million was too steep.
The Ecuadorian joined Chelsea two-and-a-half years later for a then British transfer record worth £115m.
New United director of football Jason Wilcox has initiated an aggressive pursuit of overseas talent.
This comes after Wilcox secured the signing of Mali midfielder Sekou Kone last year.
SunSport understand the Red Devils are also keeping tabs on Kone’s compatriot Dan Sinate, 19, who plays as a left-back at Angers.
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United have streamlined their scouting system to only ten scouts and empowered director of recruitment Christopher Vivell.
The club’s scouting network was once so bloated it was in excess of 100 scouts.
But dozens have left the club across the two rounds of redundancies over the past 18 months.
GettyJason Wilcox is overseeing a change in approach to overseas transfers[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
