United seal Cofie deal

Sir Alex beats rivals to young striker

By Graeme Bailey   Last updated: 10th November 2007

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Manchester United have completed a deal for Burnley starlet John Cofie.

The 14-year-old was being chased by Chelsea, Liverpool and United - but Burnley have accepted the approach from Sir Alex Ferguson's outfit.

The deal, which reports claim could eventually be worth over a £1million, will see Burnley receive 25 per cent of any sell on fee and will also have first option on any possible loan.

Done deal

"The player was unwilling to come back to Burnley, so we didn't have a choice in keeping him here," confirmed Burnley operational director Brendan Flood.

"He was going to go to one of the clubs chasing his signature and in the end; we all felt that Manchester United was the right option.

"He has a good future ahead of him and hopefully we can try to keep youngsters of John's quality at the club in future.

"However, this just shows how hard it is to keep someone who is exceptional."