Manchester United have dealt a 'big blow' to their rivals with latest transfer

After a flurry of Manchester United signings last week, the Reds announced another on Monday as 18-year-old Tynan Thompson became the latest player to sign on the dotted line. While the teenager's arrival did not come with the same fanfare as the Andrey Santos or Youri Tielemans deals, his statistics last season are enough to grab supporters' attention. The winger scored 13 goals for Tottenham Hotspur's youth team, including a brace against League Two Bristol Rovers, and boasted an impressive goal-a-game ratio in the UEFA Youth League. Those performances for the Tottenham academy would eventually earn him a spot in some Champions League matchday squads. "He is an incredibly exciting, incredibly direct left winger who scores goals and provides assists," Tottenham reporter at The Standard Sam Tabuteau told the Manchester Evening News. "He is someone who was very highly regarded at Tottenham's academy. He featured in I think it was three first-team squads last season. And so the move certainly comes as a shock to United , but also kind of to Tottenham as well. "He's moving due to family reasons and he needed to relocate. It certainly wouldn't have been Tottenham's desire to let him leave. This is why they negotiated matching rights and the sell-on clause, because they believe in his talent, as much as United obviously will have done when signing him." United have paid an initial £4m to Tottenham, with that figure rising to £8m with add-ons. That is not an insignificant sum for an 18-year-old without any first-team minutes. But Tabuteau believes United could have bagged themselves a bargain. "It does depend on the plan they have in place for him," he said. "If United have a thorough idea about his potential integration into the first team and how quickly they can fast-track him through the academy setup, then yeah, £8m down the line probably looks like a pretty good deal. "Right now, that's an awful lot of money for someone who's not played a senior game. The fact Tottenham negotiated matching rights and a sell-on clause tells you that they believe in his ability, his potential. They probably believe that he's going to be worth far more than £8m in the future. "With young players, as I'm sure you can appreciate, it's always difficult to know because their progress is not really linear. But if everything was to go smoothly, and United had a five-point plan for how they are going to integrate him into the first team, then absolutely that £8m probably looks a snip." United take steps to set out a route to the senior squad for their youngsters. And Tabuteau believes Thompson has the potential to be a brilliant signing for United, although the 2026/27 season could come too soon for him to make an impact. "I think his development was moving towards a senior debut and first team exposure," he explained. "It's difficult to say when that might have taken place because Tottenham historically don't have a particularly good record of integrating academy players. Obviously last season was a really difficult season for them, so it was very unlikely that it was ever going to happen then. "But I think in terms of their belief in his potential, they certainly saw him as someone who could challenge for first team minutes in the next year to 18 months. I think [playing in the academy next season] would probably be wise, initially. "He's only 18 and whilst he was involved in Tottenham’s first team squads, there was never the impression that he was going to get off the bench. So that £8m, that is certainly buying into potential. "It would probably make sense to initially have him with the academy and then you've got FA Cup and League Cup games where that may be an opportunity for him to be bedded in. But he's still very raw and hasn't had any exposure to first-team football. That’s including a loan elsewhere, for example." United have made a concerted effort to sign the right characters in recent years, cleansing the dressing room of bad attitudes. Tabuteau believes United have followed that blueprint with Thompson, with the forward described as being 'humble' with a professional attitude - hence why he made Spurs' bench last season. The reaction in north London to this deal has been one of frustration. There are plenty of fans who are disappointed by Thompson's departure. "Tottenham very rarely bring players through their academy into the first team picture," he added. "They've obviously viewed Thompson as someone who they could put their faith in from the academy. "There's a frustration that he never made a senior debut at Tottenham, never got the opportunity to cement himself within the first team. Tottenham fans are going to be wary of the fact that they believed in Thompson and he's now gone to United, and he could very well push on and become a first-team player in the next few years." "There should definitely be excitement," he concluded when asked how United fans should react to the signing. "He's definitely an exciting player and he is, if not the biggest, the most exciting talent out of their academy. So to lose him is a big blow for Tottenham. "But from a United standpoint, [this is] something to be excited about, for sure."