Manchester United rejected me at 14 - but I've since proved them wrong

It's somewhat ironic that Manchester United pointed out Dwight McNeil's poor crossing ability as one of the factors behind their decision to allow him to leave the club.

McNeil now has 29 Premier League assists to his name and is perhaps Everton's biggest creative threat as they prepare to face United at Old Trafford on Sunday. The 25-year-old spent nine years as a kid in the Reds' academy but was let go at 14.

He subsequently linked up with Burnley and broke through at Turf Moor, earning England Under-21 honours and a move to Everton where he has since been reunited with his former Clarets boss Sean Dyche. McNeil is often used in the number 10 position at Goodison and may well line up there again if selected against Ruben Amorim's side, while he also has the wing back experience and attacking versatility that Amorim values.

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When McNeil was released by United, he channelled his disappointment into a desire to prove those in the red half of Manchester wrong. A little over 10 years later it's fair to say he's done just that.

A Premier League regular since he was 18, McNeil has more than 200 top flight appearances to his name. He's faced United plenty of times before and there is certainly no wondering what might have been for a player who came through at the club with the likes of Angel Gomes.

"Getting released by United was hard at the time but looking back now I don’t have any regrets," he said, speaking to Mail Online. "My dad was a United fan and so was I. I went there at five-years-old but at 14 the coaches told my mum and dad I was released and they told me on the way home in the car.

"It was hard for me to take and my parents main concern was that I was alright. United told us in March and said I could stay until the end of the season but we decided it was best to leave completely and I went on a six-week trial to Burnley.

"I think the feeling was to try and prove the people who made the decision wrong and I think I’ve managed to do that. Burnley helped me massively. While the quality wasn’t as good, people were faster and stronger and I was in the first-team dressing-room at 17."

McNeil has since become a mainstay of an Everton team struggling at the wrong end of the table. He'll be back at Old Trafford on Sunday, and United will hope he doesn't offer them a reminder of what could have been.