Manchester United are set to sign Manchester City youngster Charlie McNeil in a deal that could end up costing close to £1.5 million, sources have told ESPN.

The 17-year-old striker is expected to move to Old Trafford once the transfer goes through the category one academy investigation process, which can take up to three three weeks.

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Sources have told ESPN that United will pay around £750,000 for the highly rated youngster with the rest of the fee made up of bonuses triggered by McNeil, who has represented England at youth level, making a number of first team appearances and hitting pre-determined targets. He is set to join Neil Ryan's Under-18s once the deal is complete.

Meanwhile, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is preparing his team for a friendly against Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday. United have been given an extra week to get ready for their opening Premier League game against Crystal Palace and will use the free weekend to face Dean Smith's side.

Luke Shaw is available after recovering from injury but Axel Tuanzebe is still out. Paul Pogba has returned to training after completing his quarantine following his positive test for COVID-19.

"Luke is looking really good in training," Solskjaer told MUTV on Friday.

"He has come back, looking strong, and will play in the friendly against Villa.

"It's going to be a game to give players minutes. Some have trained more than others and some will be more ready than others. Some played international games, which actually sometimes you think you don't really want that, but some of them have got valuable minutes there.

"We'll give the others minutes against Villa so they can all start on a decent level because it's going to be a long season.

"Axel is getting closer as well. In a few weeks' time, I guess he will be with us training full-time and hopefully we'll be able to give him games quickly."