Manchester United Transfer News: Everything You Need to Know About Nick Powell

The name Nick Powell is one that the majority of Premier League fans may not be all that familiar with.

Despite this, he is probably one of—if not the most—sought after players in English football.

Powell plies his trade with Crewe Alexandra, a team he has been signed to since the mere age of five.

In fact, it was largely thanks to the eighteen year-old attacking midfielder that Crewe managed to achieve promotion via the play-offs this campaign.

Scoring fourteen times and assisting seven more in thirty-eight appearances, the young man stamped his authority on League Two in impressive style.

Eventually, Powell would run out with a plethora of awards to end the season, including both Crewe Young Player and Crewe Overall Player of the year as well as League Two Young player of the season.

On top of all this, Powell has also made a total of 25 appearances for his country at under 16-18 level, scoring six times.

The reason that Nick is such a hot commodity comes as a result of his age—well, that and his amazing ability with a ball at his feet!

It would be impressive for a 20 or 21 year-old to be taking one of the English Leagues by storm, but for a man—or rather, a boy—18 years old to do it is nothing short of remarkable.

Unsurprisingly, with their legendary ability to bring young players up through the youth system into the first eleven, United are amongst the sides vying for Powell's signature.

With the signing of one attacking midfielder now all but complete, it would be the perfect time to consolidate that position even further.

The centre of Midfield is an area in which United have tried to address in recent years.

Despite the heroic return of Paul Scholes and the considerable step up of an ageing Michael Carrick this season, United fans are well aware that actions need to be taken to ensure the midfield does not fall back into the slump it was experiencing. 

Shinji Kagawa and Tom Cleverly should be good enough in the near future to ensure this for the Red Devils, but the addition of Powell to the squad—who would no doubt eventually provide genuine competition for places—can only be a good thing.

As previously mentioned, United are not the only side currently looking to lure Powell in.

Arsenal, Chelsea and even Liverpool have all expressed keen interest in the lad.

It would appear at this stage, though, that the main rival to Fergie's men will be the Gunners.

Arsenal seem to be adopting a completely new trend when it comes to signing players in recent years. 

Rather than looking for young talent from overseas, the Gunners have been bringing in English youth players that have been touted as the next big thing.

Walcott, Gibbs, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wilshere are all names that have, at some point in their careers, been linked with the England national side.

Whether or not this is enough to convince Powell that he will have a place with the club is uncertain.

Nick would also be a lot more likely to earn first team Premier League football with Arsenal in the foreseeable future, whereas it is the tendency of Sir Alex to send his youth players out on loan to clubs in the lower divisions.

Not to say that's a bad thing, but it all depends on how Powell feels about the division he is playing in.

Having seen Nick play against Gillingham at Priestfield this season, I can firmly state that he is the "real deal."

Powell looked almost untouchable in the midfield, as he was seemingly able to pick out the right passes every time the ball came to him.

Crewe would eventually win 4-3, with Powell netting two goals himself.

It really shouldn't be a shock to anyone who has seen him play that so many of the Premier League big boys are out to get him.

In all the excitement of the Kagawa saga, he has been almost completely forgotten about.

But now that the deal for the Japanese international is effectively over and done with, perhaps United can focus more on convincing this very promising young talent to join the Old Trafford ranks?

And who knows, maybe one day the name "Nick Powell" will be a cult legend—although for which club is still yet to be decided.