Man United starlet Ryan Giggs loved gets new job after release from League One club

Former Manchester United prodigy James Wilson has been snapped up by Northampton Town following his release from Port Vale.

Red Devils icon Ryan Giggs was serving as interim player-manager at United when he tipped Wilson for a bright future following a brace on his senior debut. Giggs saw potential in the young Wilson and decided to give him a start in their penultimate Premier League match of the 2013/14 season against Hull City.

Wilson returned the favour by bagging two goals as United triumphed 3-1 over the Tigers, marking himself out as a rising star for the future. However, the English striker never quite lived up to the promise his debut suggested.

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He featured infrequently for United over the subsequent four years before leaving permanently for Aberdeen in 2019. It was only six months later that he returned to England with Salford City, spending a season-and-a-half at Moor Lane before moving to Port Vale.

Wilson was among the players the club released following their relegation to League Two at the end of last season. However, the forward will remain in England's second tier.

The former wonderkid didn't have to wait long to find a new club as Northampton announced his signature. Now serving as director of football at Wilson's old club, Salford, Giggs reminisced about the time he gave the youngster his first start and lauded the qualities the striker initially showcased at Old Trafford.

"I remember we'd been beaten and I wanted to throw in some young players," said the United legend. "James came across, he trained really well. I already knew about him because he was a goalscorer, he was scoring regularly for both the reserves and the youth team.

"He really impressed me with the way he trained and the way he had an eye for a goal, and he had the dream debut, didn't he? He scored a couple of goals. He's always been a really good finisher. He had his injury problems, but he's a good lad. He always wanted to improve."

Now on his third team in four years, the 28-year-old hasn't wholly reached the potential he first displayed with the Red Devils. However, he now has a new opportunity to impress in League One with the Cobblers, hoping to reach the same heights that saw him bag a career-high 15 goals in his debut campaign at Port Vale.