One former Manchester United academy prospect has now been released 10 years on from his first start.
For the Manchester United academy, despite being among the world’s best, they don’t always get it right.
This has seen several players come through as extremely exciting prospects, to end up nowhere near their potential.
Federico Macheda is one example of this, while Adnan Januzaj was another to struggle to live up to high expectations.
But here, we’re looking at a player who scored a brace on his first start for United, only to end up being released by a League One side a decade later.
James Wilson released 10 years after Manchester United brace
May 6th is a decade on from when James Wilson was handed his first start for United at Old Trafford against Hull City as an 18-year-old.
Ryan Giggs was the interim manager at this point, replacing David Moyes a few weeks earlier. The Welsh United legend has since lauded the striker when he played for Salford saying he was a “clever and natural goalscorer”.
He also admitted he was really impressed with the way the then-teenager was training at United.
In the 3-1 win, it was Wilson who won United the game, scoring twice which left many thinking we’d stumbled upon the next great prospect to emerge from Carrington.
However, that isn’t how it ended up, a career plagued by injuries and now he’s suffered the latest blow of his career.
Following Port Vale’s relegation to League Two, Wilson is one of three players who have been released.
James Wilson’s career to date
At just 28, Wilson still has a few years left in him, but it’s unclear what level he will find interested parties at.
A proven goalscorer at most levels he’s played, Wilson will likely have interest in the lower echelons of the EFL.
Here are his career stats;
This season, he’s only scored three in League One which will go against him finding any suitors are that level.
That being said Wilson has enjoyed his past two destinations with Salford and Vale, so a club in League Two may be keen to take a chance on him.