KAI ROONEY has received a last-minute call-up to Manchester United’s Under-19 squad for a prestigious tournament in Croatia.
The 15-year-old forward impressed during the Under-16s’ run to the final of the youth Super Cup NI – more commonly known to fans as the Milk Cup.
Kai, who can operate both on the wing and as a No9 like his dad Wayne, scored and assisted in United’s opening game in Northern Ireland.
He played a starring role as United went undefeated in their group before losing 1-0 to Southampton Under-16s in Sunday’s final at the Coleraine Showgrounds.
Wayne and Coleen were in the crowd as Saints wonderkid Jude Daniels stole the glory before whipping out Wazza’s famous knockout celebration.
But despite being on summer break from school, Kai has been invited to compete in an international tournament against opponents three years his senior.
The teen has travelled with United’s Under-19 squad to face Europe’s finest academy sides in the Mladen Ramljak Tournament in Croatia.
And buzzing Kai shared a picture from his digs featuring a swimming pool with a scenic city view, captioning the Instagram story: “19s tournament soon.”
The young Red Devils have been placed in Group A with Juventus, Rapid Bucuresti and Dinamo Zagreb.
Their first game is against Romanian side Rapid on Thursday.
United have told SunSport that several other players across the Under-15s and 16s will feature too.
Meanwhile, the academy sides of Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Bologna and Shakhtar Donetsk make up Group B.
There are high hopes for Kai at United after he followed in his iconic dad’s footsteps by signing as an 11-year-old in 2020.
But he has a long way to go in emulating Wazza’s record-breaking total of 253 goals from 559 appearances at Old Trafford.
Kai isn’t the only young exciting United prospect in Croatia – in fact someone even YOUNGER earned his plane ticket months ago.
The club had already called up 14-year-old JJ Gabriel – the whizzkid who has been dubbed the “Kid Messi” after taking the Under-18s by storm last season.
Gabriel, signed by Nike at the age of 11, became the youngest player to feature for the Under-18s in April after making his debut against Leeds United, scoring twice after coming on as a substitute.
The centre forward turns 15 in October so will be eligible to play in the Prem, with Arsenal rival starlet Max Dowman also in line with a shout.
Both Gabriel and Dowman are in with a chance of becoming the youngest player to ever grace the top-flight.
The current record is held by Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri, who was 15 years and 181 days when he played against Brentford in September 2022.
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