Manchester United Signs Goal-Scoring Winger From Liverpool

An impressive finisher has sealed his future with Manchester United.

Ethan Ennis has officially signed his first professional contract with Manchester United after securing his move from Liverpool this past summer, he announced on Instagram Friday.

"Delighted to have signed my first professional contract with Manchester United!,” Ennis wrote on Christmas Eve. “A big thank you to my family and everybody who has helped me achieve this goal. Hard work continues."

Ennis, who turned 17 on Dec. 11, joined the Red Devils’ youth setup from Liverpool in the summer and started four times for the club’s under-18s squad since then. He made his UEFA Youth League debut against Young Boys earlier this month and was also part of the Manchester United team that claimed the FA Youth Cup victory over Scunthorpe.

An earlier report said that Liverpool was trying to keep Ennis, but the youngster had rejected the club’s offer and decided to make the big switch to Manchester United.

At Liverpool, Ennis played a total of seven league matches for the Merseyside outfit’s under-18s and once in the FA Youth Cup as well. In the process, he notched an impressive tally of five goals. However, it was his incredible hat-trick performance against Sutton United in his FA Youth Cup debut for the Reds that really stood out in his resume.

“It was a great evening for him,” Liverpool U18 coach Marc Bridge-Wilkinson told Liverpool’s official website of Ennis’ hat-trick. “It was his debut in the FA Youth Cup and he got three goals! What a wonderful achievement for him and he went on and did what I ask our subs to do – have an impact on the game.”

“He arrived in great areas which forward players do and his finishing was really good,” he added.

With Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick open to the idea of giving youngsters their time to shine, it appears that Ennis has chosen the right path in his young career.

Rangnick had hinted that if he is to sign a player for the senior team, he’d be more keen on bringing in youngsters.

“If you pay big money for a 30-year-old and he’s still good enough to make you successful, I don’t mind that,” Rangnick told The Guardian about his transfer plans earlier this month. “But you have to be aware the money is only being invested in the potential success over the next two or three years and you won’t get any return. I think it always makes more sense to sign a player at 21 or 22 and if you have to pay a big fee, you have the chance to develop him into a player who is worth even more.”