Teen star explains why he snubbed Manchester United transfer and joined Bournemouth

Promising young goalkeeper Callan McKenna joined Bournemouth over Manchester United because the pathway to first-team football with the Cherries was clear.

The Manchester Evening News revealed in January that United were interested in signing McKenna but that transfer talks were ongoing and nothing concrete had been agreed.

It was suggested United could pay a six-figure sum for McKenna, a fee which could eventually surpass seven figures depending on the performance-related add-ons in a possible deal, but the 17-year-old turned down a move to Manchester and completed a move to Bournemouth.

United often recruit emerging talent to join their academy and were hopeful of signing McKenna, who broke into the first-team at his former club Queen's Park despite being just 17.

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Three months after signing for Bournemouth, McKenna has revealed he snubbed United because he felt switching to the south coast was the better choice for his career.

The goalkeeper spoke to Bournemouth club media and said: "I had 15-minute Zoom call with Simon Francis [Bournemouth's assistant technical director] and Neil Moss [head of goalkeeping

“I travelled to Manchester and met the people from Manchester United the day before deadline day. That night, I had the Zoom call and was invested in coming here.

“The following morning, the guys from United came to take me to the training ground and I told them it wasn’t what I wanted. I thought I would be closer to the first team and you only need to look at some of the goalkeepers Bournemouth have brought through, like Mark Travers and Aaron Ramsdale.

“You want to follow in their footsteps. Coming here sounded perfect and it has been so far. It’s not just about the badge or saying you play for this or that team, that’s for later in my career.

“Hopefully in 20 years’ time, you can say you’ve done X, Y or Z. But for the here and now, Bournemouth is perfect for me. It was difficult to adjust at the start, but I love it now. This is my life now and I feel I’m progressing well so, hopefully, I can continue to do that.

“Hopefully coming here will put me on the way to eventually playing in the Premier League.”

Kenna has featured for Bournemouth's Under-18s and has been named on the bench for three Premier League fixtures since leaving Queen's Park in the January window.