Luca Ercolani: It was a dream to play for Manchester United
United boast a proud history of bringing top talent through their academy ranks with Bobby Charlton, George Best and the Class of 92 most-famously testament to that.
Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Scott McTominay standout among the talent to have emerged from United’s youth setup over the past few years.
While the club have aggressively pursued rising stars from across the continent in recent times, particularly during Nicky Butt’s spell as Head of Academy.
Ercolani, 18, is among the young hopefuls to have secured moves to Manchester United since the recruitment drive began in earnest in 2016 and he has now lifted the lid on how he came to sign for the Premier League giants.
"The United scout from Italy saw me and then he brought me to Manchester to trial a couple of times," Ercolani told United’s official website, when asked about how his transfer from Forli happened.
"I was doing a week in Manchester and then back in Italy.
"At 16, I moved here in January 2016 and I was really happy."
Ercolani swapped northern Italy for north-west England at an age when most children are finishing school.
And the centre-back has opened up about a challenge he initially faced when leaving his homeland.
Man Utd news: Luca Ercolani lifts lid on signing for Manchester United (Image: GETTY)
Man Utd news: Luca Ercolani lifts lid on signing for Manchester United (Image: GETTY)
"Yeah, you pick up the words that you really need – football words – in like two weeks, but I think I had a good education because I’ve been studying English since I was at school in Italy at the age of eight," Ercolani added.
"I had the basics but you have to improve every time because it really helps you to communicate with team-mates on the pitch especially, so that was important for me."
Ercolani says signing for United was the best move he could have envisaged.
"No!" Ercolani responded, when asked if he ever thought he would end up in England.
"It was a dream, especially to play for Manchester United.
"I remember when I was about 12 or 13, I was joking with my parents, because obviously my dream was to play professional football.
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Man Utd news: Luca Ercolani lifts lid on signing for Manchester United (Image: GETTY)
"I always watched United when I was younger, the United when [Cristiano] Ronaldo was playing.
"And I remember joking with my parents: ‘Can you imagine me playing for United?’
"And a couple of years later I was called up to Manchester for a trial, so it was an amazing time."
Ercolani has made the full-time step up from United’s Under-18s to Ricky Sbragia's Under-23s this season and he’s discussed the process by which that came about.
“Yes, at the start, in my first year with the Under-18s I had to settle in because obviously it was a different kind of football and a different type of defending for me,” Ercolani said.
Man Utd news: Luca Ercolani lifts lid on signing for Manchester United (Image: GETTY)
"Then, the second year last season, it started quite well and then there was a period where I was up and down too much.
"I was lucky but I worked really hard and then I was lucky that Ricky [Sbragia], the Reserves coach, called me up to play for them in an away game at Sunderland.
"The team wasn’t really doing well, so it was a big game.
"I started the game and, luckily, we won with a clean sheet.
"Since then, I was involved with the Reserves, so for me it was a big step up and I think it helped me a lot to settle in with the team."
Ercolani will be in action for United’s Under-23s when they take on Stoke at Old Trafford on Friday night.