Zach Giggs, son of ex-Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs, has signed a contract with newly-promoted Premier League side Sheffield United.
The 16-year-old was released from the Red Devils and has been spending the past few weeks on trail at Bramall Lane. The Blades recently secured their return to the top-flight, joining Burnley as the two teams to be automatically promoted from the Championship.
As well as recruiting for the senior squad this summer, the Blades are still busy signing playing for their academy. Giggs has spent the vast majority of his youth career at the Red Devils and predominately plays as a left-back, although he can often drop into central defence when required.
He was part of the Man Utd side that featured in the Adidas Generation Cup. Giggs can represent both Wales and England at international level, but has come through the Welsh youth system, although he hasn’t publicly decided who he would prefer to represent at senior level.
Paul Heckingbottom revealed that the decision to sign Giggs would be down to academy manager Derek Geary, but says he would back any decision. Heckingbottom previously worked in the Blades academy, before becoming the first team boss.
“The academy has got to be brilliant at producing players," he told Yorkshire Live. "For the health of the club you have got to have people at every stage who are experts in what they do and what their job entails.
“Certainly academy manager, under 21 and under 18 coaches yeah you have got to produce players but decision making on those players is key as well."
Giggs Snr won 13 Premier League titles during his time at Man Utd and also triumphed in the Champions League twice and the FA Cup four times. Ryan went into coaching following retirement and acted as assistant to Louis Van Gaal between 2014 and 2016.
Ryan got his first senior management role as Wales boss in 2018, but was dropped from the role shortly before the Euros in 2021 after being charged with coercive control and assaulting his ex-girlfriend Kate Greville.
Last summer, the jury in the trial of Ryan Giggs had been discharged after failing to reach a verdict on any of the three counts he faced during a four-week domestic violence case at Manchester Crown Court.
