Sean McGinty in action for Charlton last season Picture: Edmund Boyden

by Graham Jones

A young Maidstone footballer has made a dream move to Premier League champions Manchester United.

Sean McGinty, 15, from Bearsted, has been at Charlton for the past three years and was offered a scholarship with the Addicks during the summer.

But with Manchester United showing a serious interest in him, the centre-half has decided to make the move to Old Trafford.

The Republic of Ireland under-17 international did not have a contract with the Addicks, but the clubs have agreed an undisclosed compensation package.

Charlton Athletic football club chairman Richard Murray (pictured) told the club's website: "To have a club like Manchester United tracking our youth players clearly shows the quality that our academy is currently producing.

"It also provides further evidence of the value of retaining our academy status, a decision the board made earlier this summer despite the club's relegation to League One."

McGinty played for the Charlton under-18s last season, despite his young age, and broke into the reserve side for the 1-0 home defeat to Millwall in April.

He later played in the 5-0 win over Southampton in a behind-closed-doors fixture and started in the 2-0 triumph at Reading.

Mr Murray added: "Of course, nothing would have made us happier than Sean coming through the ranks and representing our first team, and our coaches had high hopes for him."

"We did our utmost to persuade him to stay, and offered scholarship terms similar to those which we gave Jonjo Shelvey at the same stage in his career.

"Of course, Jonjo's progress over the last year or so, not to mention his impact on the first team, just shows what is possible at Charlton, and clearly illustrates our commitment to youth development.

"But equally, joining such a big Premier League club is obviously an attractive prospect, and Sean and his family made it clear that they wanted to move north to United.”