Manchester United reportedly turned to a player who left the club this year to try and convince one of his country's brightest prospects to come to Old Trafford.

In their Next Generation 2019 feature, The Guardian stated that the club had asked Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, who left for Inter in August, to try and lure Anderlecht winger Jeremy Doku to United.

According to The Guardian, the 17-year-old could have joined Liverpool after his current club allowed for a potential deal to be discussed arising from Lazar Markovic's arrival on loan from Anfield, but the Brussels-based outfit ultimately persuaded the Belgian youngster to stay.

Doku made six senior appearances for Anderlecht last season before turning 17 in May and has played eight times for the first team in the current campaign.

He has yet to score for the senior side but has netted twice in as many appearances for the reserves this season, while Kristof Terreur noted in The Guardian that he was applauded by some Benfica supporters after impressing against them in a summer friendly with his "pace, acceleration and skills".

While Doku remains very inexperienced at senior level, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has not been slow to show faith in teenagers who he feels are good enough to play in the first team since replacing Jose Mourinho last December.

Mason Greenwood, who like Doku has played mainly as a right winger recently, was thrown into the second leg of the last 16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain for his debut in March when the tie was in the balance and has now made 13 appearances for the first team, scoring against Astana and Rochdale last month.

Tahith Chong, another right winger, has made eight first team appearances under Solskjaer, who gave him his debut in an FA Cup over Reading this year.

Teenagers Brandon Williams and Angel Gomes have also featured for United's first team this season, while James Garner debuted against Crystal Palace in February two weeks before his 18th birthday.

Whether Solskjaer will survive in the Manchester United manager's job for much longer given their abysmal league placing of 12th and current run of 11 away games without a win and two league wins out of 13 is unclear.

If he is shown faith by the club's hierarchy, though, Old Trafford could be an ideal destination for Doku, as he would be playing under a manager who has demonstratively trusted in teenage talents in big games, as evidenced by Greenwood and Chong playing in the 3-1 win over PSG last season.

Manchester United fans, would you like to see Doku coming to Old Trafford in the future? Let us know your views in the comments section below!