The number of players leaving Manchester United on a free transfer increased this week.
The Premier League giants confirmed, shortly after the FA Cup final victory over Man City, that Raphael Varane, Anthony Martial and Brandon Williams would be departing when their contracts expire. Jonny Evans and Tom Heaton could go too, although Manchester United are hoping to convince the veteran duo to stay.
And, after turning down numerous attempts from United to extend his own deal, a young forward highly regarded by Erik ten Hag said his goodbyes on Tuesday.
Omari Forson, handed his first-team debut by Ten Hag at the start of 2024 and a regular in the club’s youth teams, confirmed that he will be plying his trade in Serie A rather than the Premier League from now on.
Omari Forson swaps Manchester United for Monza
Forson, still only 19, joins an ambitious Monza outfit on a four-year deal. A deal that, despite his lack of regular minutes at Old Trafford, has captured the imagination at the Stadio Brianteo.
“His brilliant growth path led him to be added to the (Man United) first-team in the summer of 2023,” reads a delighted statement posted on Monza’s official website. “One of the most promising prospects (at his age level) in Europe.”
Monza did not have a head coach when Forson put pen to paper. Raffaele Palladino, the man who guided them to an impressive 12th in Serie A last term, was appointed as the replacement for Bologna-bound Vincenzo Italiano at Fiorentina.
And, on Wednesday, Palladino’s replacement was confirmed. Forson suddenly finds himself sharing a dressing room with one of the finest and most decorated footballers of his generation.
“Alessandro Nesta will be the new coach,” announces Monza CEO Adriano Galliani, via Tuttomercatoweb. “Introducing Alessandro Nesta is superfluous. (He was) a great player who with (Silvio) Berlusconi’s Milan.”
Serie A side hire Alessandro Nesta as head coach
Galliani, who was also a major part of a period of Rossoneri success under Berlusconi, knows Nesta well. A genuine world-leading central defender in the late-ninetimes and noughties, Nesta won three Serie A titles and two Champions Leagues among a personal trophy haul which includes no fewer than 16 winners’ medals at club level.
The 48-year-old was also a massive part of the Italy team which lifted the World Cup in 2006. Forson, then, can only benefit from honing his talents under a man who knows what it takes to reach the pinnacle of football, even if Nesta ‘the manager’ has not yet enjoyed the same success as Nesta ‘the player’.
“Some say that he has never coached in Serie A,” adds Galliani. “I only remind some sceptics, and they are few, that (Milan legend) Mr Arrigo Sacchi had never coached in Serie A, as well as Raffaele Palladino.
“We hope that Nesta will have the same luck as his predecessors.”
Forson, who played for West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur at youth level before enrolling at Carrington, made seven first-team appearances in 2023/24. When his departure was confirmed, Forson paid a glowing tribute to the man who gave him his chance, Erik ten Hag’s trust in youth one of the key reasons why Ineos decided to keep the faith with him.
“Appreciate all the opportunities you gave me,” the 19-year-old writes on Instagram. “Gonna show the world what you saw in me a long time ago.”