Scouting Eye-Catching Manchester United Youngster Indy Boonen

Indy Boonen is a 17-year old Belgian forward plying his trade in Manchester United's impressive under-18 side. In seven starts and two substitute appearances so far this season he has scored five goals and provided three assists—just under one direct contribution to a goal every game.

When he signed for the club in early 2015 he said, per Het Laatste Nieuws (h/t Sky Sports), "It's like in a dream. Of course I will miss my friends but if you want to achieve something then you have to make sacrifices. The training sessions are hard, but I don't feel the tiredness when I realise I have signed for Manchester United."

Back in August of this year, Boonen attracted a good deal of attention thanks to a stunning piece of skill against Everton's under-18s. Having done well to run into the box and work an opening for a saved shot, he received the rebound to the left of the six-yard area.

For a moment it looked like he was going away from goal towards the edge of the box but instead he dragged the ball back with a backheel while spinning—a kind of narrow Cruyff turn—which was enough to beat his man. The goalkeeper reacted by rushing out towards Boonen, but a quick shuffle of his feet was enough to leave the stopper sprawling as he laid a simple pass into across the goal line for Nishan Burkart to score.

With the kind of numbers he has put up, it would be easy to assume that Boonen was a centre-forward, but in truth his best position has not yet emerged. Doron Salomon, regular United youth-team watcher, had this to say:

"He's not a winger, at least not in the same way that Tahith Chong is. He's not a central midfielder, at least not at the moment, and I suspect he'd only work there as part of a three. He's not really a traditional No. 10."

"He's one of these new breed of players who plays in both wide and central areas in forward positions."

"He drops deep and maybe most crucially, he makes brilliant runs in behind. He's excellent at the old fashioned give-and-go, pass-and-move."

His specific abilities are a little hard to pin down. Salomon again:

"He's not blisteringly quick, but he's no slouch; his touch and dribbling are very good, and his finishing is excellent—he finds the corners a lot and with different parts of the foot, too. I guess the two areas I feel he excels in are his movement and vision; he sees space very well whether he's going into it or passing to it."

Nick Poole, who can be found tweeting about United's youth team at ManUnitedYouth, concurs with Salomon:

"I would agree that defining his real strengths is a struggle. He is really exciting but hard to pick his best position or exactly what type of player he is. You can see his confidence, maybe even borderline cockiness increasingly manifesting itself on the pitch with some of the tricks he tries."

"

Good 5-2 win today away to wolves .
Happy with 2 goals and 1 assist ⚽️ #mufc

— Indy Boonen (@indinhio) October 15, 2016"

"I saw someone compare his movement to Jesse Lingard's, which is a pretty decent comparison. He instinctively takes up really clever positions. There is a definite football intelligence there."

Salomon was keen to point out just how vital he has been to United's youngsters:

"It's impossible to ignore his contribution to the team."

"He has made 25 appearances for the under-18s over two seasons. He has scored 12 goals and made seven assists. Eleven of those contributions came in a weaker team (albeit one that eventually found its rhythm late on in the season) last year."

"He has linked up very well with Angel Gomes on numerous occasions, and the combination play between him, Gomes, Chong, Burkart and DJ Buffonge in particular are really exciting. And we've not even seen [the injured] Callum Gribbin for the U18s this season!"

"

Only @agomes_47 know how to assist me lol 

— Indy Boonen (@indinhio) September 3, 2016"

Boonen's confidence is clear off the pitch as well as on it. Speaking to Voetbal Krant in his home country (h/t Manchester Evening News), he said, "They say you never know when you are close to the first team. Even with Marcus [Rashford], they did not say that he was getting close to it."

He clearly finds this an inspiration, saying, "Rashford skipped the under-21s, and immediately went into the first team. He is an example for every young player at United."

Poole cited that increased confidence as one of the potential causes for his even-better performances this season.

"He was really a fringe player for much of last season, and I'm not sure if his improvement is down to the fact that he's just settled and confident now or if they were not quite sure how to use him last year—in what was a much less impressive team as a whole."

Salomon and Poole both agreed that his physical growth has been a factor—not unusual at his age, of course, but he has gone from being small for the age group in which he is playing to looking a physical match for his opponents.

"

I've seen Indy Boonen play for Man United's youth team a couple of times, and let me warn you - he is marvellous! https://t.co/7eJLTczEge

— Nas (@NumberNineNas) October 19, 2016"

Although he is not an out-and-out centre-forward, he has shown the finishing technique, anticipation and movement to suggest he could develop into one. Take his first goal in United's 5-0 win over Middlesbrough's under-18s back in September.

A beautiful outside-of-the-boot through ball from Gomes found Boonen who had run into space outside of his man into the left-hand channel in the box. The Belgian picked up the ball in stride before blasting a shot on the run past the 'keeper at his near post.

Near-post goals often lead to the suggestion that the goalkeeper should have done better, but in this instance Boonen generated such power and accuracy with his perfect body shape that any criticism would be harsh.

And while he was something of a fringe player last season, the range of finishing of which Salomon spoke was still on display. Back in December 2015, by coincidence also against Middlesbrough, Boonen set off on a run behind the defence with Gomes on the ball. Gomes' brilliant lift over the defender found its way into Boonen's path. The finish was pretty special. Rather than attempting to power it past the well-positioned 'keeper, the Belgian instead hooked the ball back into the far corner, leaving the goalie rooted to the spot.

Both the run and the finish spoke of his aforementioned football intelligence. And, of course, his link up play with Gomes, something that has been key to his performances.

Having previously looked in depth at Chong and Gomes, it is clear why there is such excitement about United's youth team at this level. As always it is important to note that the path to the first team is a rocky one with many pitfalls, but the talent is obviously there. The behind-the-scenes work in United's academy setup is starting to bear fruit.

Boonen is a fine example of that and is most certainly a name to remember.

Appearance and scoring data per YouthHawk.co.uk. 

Quotations obtained firsthand where not otherwise stated.