Manchester United in Talks for Leicester Teenager Louis Page
Manchester United are working on a deal to sign Louis Page, the 18-year-old Leicester City midfielder regarded as one of the most exciting talents outside English football's top flight. Talks between the two clubs are understood to be ongoing, according to BBC Sport.
Page turned 18 last month but already has 21 senior appearances to his name, five of them starts last season as Leicester suffered relegation from the Championship to League One. His most recent outing came in Leicester's Carabao Cup win over Northampton on Saturday. He is an England Under-20 international and was named EFL Apprentice of the Year last season — a award recognising the best young player across the three divisions below the Premier League.
United face competition. Arsenal and Aston Villa have both shown significant interest in recent weeks, though it is United who appear furthest down the road in trying to strike an agreement.
Because Page signed professional terms with Leicester in September 2025, any club wanting him must negotiate a transfer fee rather than relying on the compensation system that applies to players without a pro deal. Leicester, now a League One side, hold the cards.
Page has been at Leicester since the under-9s level, nearly a decade in the same academy. When he signed his first professional contract last autumn, the club described him as "one of the brightest talents in our system." His senior debut arrived against Huddersfield Town in the Carabao Cup in August 2025, and he has been steadily involved ever since.
He could also become the second Leicester prospect in quick succession to leave for a bigger club. Forward Jeremy Monga, 17, joined Manchester City earlier this year, and there is a growing sense that Leicester's drop into the third tier has made it harder to hold on to their most gifted teenagers.
For United, the pursuit fits a clear pattern. The club has invested heavily in young, high-ceiling players in recent windows, and a midfielder already capped at Under-20 level for England, with a season of senior football behind him, ticks that box. The Premier League's summer transfer window runs until the end of August, leaving time — but not much of it — for the two clubs to find a number that works.
For Leicester fans, the sting is obvious. A player who came through every age group, won a national award, and was still turning out for the first team at the weekend could be gone before the month is out. That is the reality of relegation: the pitch shrinks, the finances tighten, and the biggest clubs circle the talent that survives the fall.
