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.

That assist from Indy Boonen! 😎👌#MUFC https://t.co/747EYWG9xe

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 30, 2016

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.”

Boonen skill vs Liverpool https://t.co/URKWGzn6vX

— jb8521 (@jb_8521) August 21, 2016

“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 …

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