This could have been what Manchester United fans were hoping for.
In the wake of Manchester United’s enthralling 3-0 victory in their 4th out of the six Europa League group stage matches, Paul Wilson, in his ‘The Guardian’ column, wrote, “Ole Gunnar Solskjær wants to see Manchester United playing on the front foot and creating chances and they qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League by doing just that.”
Do you remember who Manchester United were playing against that night? It was the Serbian side FK Partizan, also known as Partizan Belgrade, for whom the encounter was their first visit to Old Trafford since 1966.
Unlike the last time, Manchester United were fully prepared for the challenge as they somehow wanted to surmount the utter embarrassment the club had faced in 1966 — Sir Matt Busby’s men had lost the European Cup semi-final 2-1 on aggregate at hands of those Serbians.
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Though, this time the game soon came to manifest the difference between the mighty Manchester United and the club who struggle to play Europa League football every season these days. A 3-0 scoreline, thanks to a magical goal from Anthony Martial and two eye-catching finishes from Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, engraved the verdict of the event.
One of the many things that seemed to be a positive notion from Partizan’s perspective on that night was the introduction of teenager Filip Stevanovic. The youngster’s impressiveness with the Serbian side saw him linked with a summer move to the red side of Manchester. And it has now been claimed Manchester United have agreed on a deal for the 17-year-old winger.
According to the reports from Serbian outlet Republika (via Sportwitness), Manchester United have completed a deal believingly worth €12 million for Stevanovic, who wants to emulate the footsteps of Zoran Tosic, who joined Manchester United from Partizan for €7 million in the year 2009.
Having made 35 appearances (mostly as a substitute) across all competitions, Stevanovic amassed nine goals and three assists in total, catching eyes of several big clubs beyond the Serbian territory.
While discussing his abilities, Stevanovic is actually a winger, who can play in both wings, though his personal preference is right-wing. However, the 2019-20 season saw him donning in an attacking midfield role as well. He has the pace and loves to take on defenders and dribble past them with ease while dancing on his toes.
Even though his versatility and jaw-dropping trickeries make him one of the best in what he does at his age group, substantial improvement needs to be done over his finishing, which he could undoubtedly polish anytime in the future.
It has also been stated that he might spend the next season on loan in the Serbian club as a part of the deal, meaning United devotees might have to wait another season for him to run down the green turf of Old Trafford.
The story has already aroused excitement amongst the Manchester United supporters, with the feeling that this could be the clubs’ first summer signing. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how everything develops around the widely-distributed reports in the upcoming weeks.
Do you think Filip Stevanovic is good enough for Manchester United?