Old Trafford protegee believes he can be part of Mourinho’s thinking

MANCHESTER United starlet Ethan Hamilton was plucked from the famous breeding ground of Edinburgh’s Hutchison Vale to Old Trafford at just 12 years of age.

And the exciting midfielder is hoping he’s on a pathway to becoming the next Scot to make an impact at Jose Mourinho’s side,

Hamilton was part of a Scotland under-19 team who exited their Euro Elite Round this week after three disappointing defeats in Czech Republic.

But the 18-year-old was a real positive after playing every minute of the three games and impressing with his drive, vision and energy. Hamilton signed a three-and-a-half year professional contract with United when he turned 16 after visiting them for four years while at Hutchie Vale – the same path Darren Fletcher took to the United first team, and the two bonded while the Scotland captain was at Old Trafford.

Hamilton has capt ained t he United under-18s and has already been fast-tracked into their reserve squad.

“Life is great at Man United, I’m really settled down there now,” he said.

“I’m enjoying it but it takes time to get used to the size and stature of that club. I moved straight from Hutchy Vale to Man United so it’s just crazy. Thankfully, the process of moving was quite gradual, that helped me. I first went down there when I was about 12 and it carried on from there. If you think too much about the scale of the club, you can get carried away.

“I’m at Carrington every day and it’s hard for me to put into words what it’s like being around the big name firstteam players. It’s amazing to see these guys, look at what they do, how they act around the place – and try to emulate them. I try to take bits of information from all of them.

“And Darren Fletcher was brilliant with me from day one. He knew I’d taken the same route as him so I suppose he wanted to take me under his wing a bit. But just seeing the way he carries himself around the place, I tried to take bits of that – as well as watching how he played as well.”

And Hamilton is well aware it will be a struggle to break into Mourinho’s side.

He stated: “I’m just a boy from Edinburgh so you have to try to get your head around how you’re actually going to make it there. It’s so tough. But no matter how difficult it is to make it at Manchester United, you need to have the belief that you can do it.”