Gary Neville will soon have another reason to hate Liverpool, with the club close to poaching Salford City’s brightest young talent.
talkSPORT understands the Premier League champions have beaten Manchester City to the capture of striker Will Wright in excess of £200,000 with add-ons.
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Neville famously once quipped that picking between the two to win the title is like ‘having a choice of two blokes to nick your wife‘.
Now, the Manchester United legend has been powerless to stop Liverpool and City making a play for Salford’s prized starlet, Wright.
The 17-year-old made his senior debut for Salford City against Pep Guardiola‘s side in the 8-0 FA Cup defeat in January.
The forward only played a few minutes of the Etihad drubbing, but his inclusion underlined the Class of ’92 hierarchy’s faith in him.
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David Beckham and Neville are now set to lose Wright in their first summer since becoming the sole co-owners of the club in May.
Wright, who scored over 50 goals at all levels for Salford last season, is one of the youngest players ever to debut for the League Two side.
He is in the second year of his scholarship, having been spotted playing for local sides Euxton Villa and Fylde only two years ago.
Since making his debut earlier this year, the 6ft 3in teenager also featured in League Two matches against Port Vale and Bradford.
Wright has continued to catch the eye in pre-season, scoring four goals in three friendly appearances for Salford this month already.
Speaking after bagging two goals against FC United last week, he told the club’s website: “For all of us [young players] it’s a fantastic opportunity.
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“Just to be even playing games, let alone training with the first team and getting the opportunity.
“Gaining the experience and taking things back to the B-team, the academy, where we can influence them and hopefully bring more and more up and get more debuts.”
He added: “I feel great, I’m ready!”
Arsenal, Brentford and Burnley have also been reported to have been monitoring his situation, but Liverpool now won the race.
The Reds have been stockpiling young players to arm their academy around Wright’s age group in recent years.
Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni are both expected to be around Arne Slot’s senior side this term after being plucked from Chelsea and Leicester, respectively.
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Wright’s exit will come as a huge blow to Neville and Beckham’s plans for Salford, having released 17 players at the end of the season.
The duo previously held a ten per cent share in the club alongside their ex-Manchester United teammates in Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt.
Beckham was the last Class of ’92 star to buy a stake in the club, doing so in 2019 – five years after his pals clubbed together to buy the club.
Following previous majority shareholder Peter Lim’s decision to depart in 2024, Beckham and Gary Neville have since assumed control, with their old teammates relinquishing their ownership.
