David Beckham‘s playing career is over, but his oldest son is now getting a chance to start his own life as a footballer with the very same club where his father began: Manchester United.
At 14 years old, Brooklyn is the same age his father was when he signed with Man United — the club where David made his (brand) name over the course of a decade in the first team. But as the Guardian explains, Brooklyn still has some proving to do before he’s given a spot in the club’s academy.
From the Guardian:
United’s coaching staff have been monitoring the 14-year-old after inviting him to the club where his father made almost 400 appearances, winning the Premier League six times, the FA Cup twice and the European Cup.
Brooklyn, who was in the academy at LA Galaxy during Beckham’s time in Major League Soccer, had a run-out with Chelsea at the start of the year before signing up for Queens Park Rangers’ junior set-up.
Beckham took him into United’s training ground in Carrington on Thursday and other sessions are planned before the academy staff establish whether the teenager should be given the chance to shine at the club where his father started his long and illustrious career.
It’s unclear whether Brooklyn Beckham was holding out for a shot at joining Man United or if he just couldn’t cut it in his trials with Chelsea and QPR. But even if he doesn’t catch on with the Premier League champions, he will probably still have a chance to play for his father one day.
David Beckham has reportedly chosen Miami for the MLS expansion team he will own at a heavily discounted buy-in fee as part of his original playing contract with the league from back in 2007. When the AP asked Beckham if he would like to have Brooklyn play for his MLS club (once it exists), Beckham said, “Yes, hopefully, hopefully.” He added:
”As long as the boys are happy, as long as they enjoy playing football and they have fun doing it then, whether they play at professional level or whether they play at Sunday league level, I don’t care.
”Obviously, any time the boys go and train at a club, there’s a certain amount of pressure on them because it’s highlighted and that’s a shame at times,” Beckham said. ”But they are level-headed children, they are fun, they love playing the game. So we will see.”
Brooklyn isn’t the only Beckham offspring attracting attention from top Premier League clubs, though. Arsenal reportedly signed 10-year-old Romeo Beckham to their youth academy in September.
