Manchester United have beaten off strong competition from West Ham and Chelsea to land Toby Collyer - the best young defensive midfielder in the country according to those who worked with him at Brighton.
Collyer, 18, signed a three-and-a-half-year deal at Old Trafford after impressing during a trial at the Premier League giants Carrington training base last month. And if those who have worked with him at Brighton are to be believed, United have snapped up one of the brightest young talents in the country.
Former Brighton youth coach Mark Beard insists Collyer, who has captained England at U16 and U17 level, has the potential to rise to the very top. Beard, now a non-league coach at Dorking Wanderers, told Sussex Live : "Even when he was an under-15 he trained with us [the under-18s] a lot. You could see he was going to be a top-class player.
