James Overy made his Manchester United debut at the weekend after eight months on the sidelines with an injury.

The Manchester Evening News reported last summer that Overy was set to join the academy on a scholarship deal. United beat a number of Premier League clubs to his signature.

Overy, who is eligible to play for Australia and England, departed Australian side Perth Glory to relocate to England with his family, but picked up an injury shortly after moving to Manchester.

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Followers of the academy have been forced to wait to watch Overy in action and the 17-year-old finally made his debut for the Under-18s against Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.

Overy replaced Godwill Kukonki with 20 minutes remaining against Liverpool and posted on social media: "Great feeling to be back after a tough eight months out with injury."

Speaking to MUTV after the 2-2 draw away in Merseyside, U18 manager Adam Lawrence reflected on Overy's road to recovery from his injury and said: “It’s been really hard for James because obviously he’s made the move from Australia and he’s a terrific lad first of all.

“But he got injured in pre-season and you can see he’s such a great lad, a great kid and has such good energy and he wanted to be back. A real credit to him because he stayed positive throughout.

"It’s not affected him in terms of his positivity. And listen, it’s obviously disappointing what’s happened in the game, but for him to be back and playing football again is brilliant."

United's academy is regarded as best-in-class and the club's youth scouts are tasked with finding youngsters who have the potential to make the first team.

Scholarship deals are offered to promising young players and represent a milestone on the way to potentially being offered a professional contract, which can be signed at 17.

Overy caught the eye of scouts in the Premier League when he was just 15, impressing for Perth Glory's first team in a pre-season friendly against West Ham in the summer of 2023.