Meet Man Utd FA Youth Cup hero who was watched 19 times before challenging Evra

Manchester United's scouts clearly like to be thorough in their work, so much so that former youth product Sean McGinty was watched 19 times.

The now Ayr United centre-half began his career at Charlton Athletic, joining the Addicks in 2013. Beginning as a central midfielder, the now 29-year-old was advised by his coach that a future may lie in wait for him as a defender. Soon enough McGinty found himself as a 14-year-old playing for the club's U18s and playing for the Republic of Ireland at U17 level. Little did he know he was being watched by one of the world's biggest clubs.

Charlton knocked back United's initial bid before accepting the second and the teenager was heading to the north west. That represented a huge step up, but the Addicks were playing against similar opponents so whilst the standard of his teammates rose McGinty never found himself out of place.

He told Mirror Football: "There was a Man Utd scout who watched me 19 times for Charlton and Ireland. At the end of that season he made contact and Man Utd put a bid in for me, I think it was the second bid that got accepted. It was a no brainer. I never knew (I was being watched). I had a really good season, playing ahead of my age. They obviously watched me and it was quite a quick move. Within a month I was on my way up to Manchester.

"I went into the U18s squad. You were playing against the Arsenals, the Tottenhams - I'd done that the year before. The standard of the Man Utd team was a lot better, but it wasn't a massive step up when it came to the teams you were playing. I'd say the step up came when you played with the reservers two years later. You had some of the older players who weren't in the first team - that's when you really saw the standard change."

McGinty would eventually go on to claim the FA Youth Cup at Old Trafford in 2011, with the Red Devils beating Sheffield United across two legs. A side that included the likes of Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba triumphed comfortably and remain the last United side to win the competition despite the club's conveyor belt of talent popping out Marcus Rashford and co since that win.

Lingard and Pogba have both gone on to enjoy impressive careers at Old Trafford, the latter coming and going with a hugely successful spell at Juventus sandwiched in between. Justifiably, every member of the Youth Cup winning squad had a right to believe a future lie ahead for them in Manchester.

Not all of them would get the opportunity, with breaks and a bit of luck required for any young player to make their way. Sir Alex Ferguson had shown a willingness throughout his tenure to back the club's academy. McGinty found himself playing at left-back, the position in which he started the final. Patrice Evra was in to his 30s and the youngster felt as if opportunities may come knocking, especially after he was selected ahead of Alexander Büttner, a summer signing, with the reserves.

He said: "I was playing out of position at left-back, which I was comfortable with at the time but I always knew I'd never be a left-back. It was strange, winning that cup, playing at left-back when I knew I wanted to play at centre-half. You had Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and you're thinking how am I going to play.

"But at left-back I probably would've had a good shot. You had Fabio, Evra was coming towards the end. They bought in Buttner from abroad but I was playing ahead of him in reserve games so I was thinking 'I'm third choice here'. At the time you think I've got a shot here, but obviously it wasn't to be."

Evra, Buttner and Fabio all left in a 2014 clear out - 12 months after McGinty exited Old Trafford to join Sheffield United. There he played alongside several modern day Premier League stalwarts, one being Red Devils skipper Harry Maguire. The centre-half moved to Old Trafford via transfers to Hull City and Leicester City. Maguire had been in the Sheffield side who were beaten by McGinty in the FA Youth Cup Final just two years earlier.

Yet a year of first team exposure had seen his development skyrocket and his former teammate confessed he was far beyond the League One level he was then playing at. McGinty said: "He'd probably been playing for the first team the year prior to me arriving. That season he was brilliant - only youth but so dominant in the air. Defending set plays, attacking set plays he was winning everything. Really comfortable on the ball, he was way too good for League One at that time."

McGinty would go on to play for the likes of Rochdale and Aldershot Town before eventually settling at Torquay United. He headed north in 2018, joining Partick Thistle, and is now into his fifth year and his third clu in Scotland's second tier after moving to Ayr United from Greenock Morton in the summer.

Much is made of the comparable levels regarding the levels south and north of the border, but McGinty feels as though the small leagues in Scotland increase the competitiveness. He said, following the move from Torquay: "It isn't a mad step up (from the National League). It is probably bottom end of League One, top end of League Two. It is a good standard, because there's only 10 teams in the league there's no easy games. Whereas down south you could probably turn up, have a bad game and still win one."