Name: Frankie Maguire

Club: Sheffield United

Date of Birth: 29 July 2003

Position: Midfielder

Frankie Maguire - his career so far

Frankie Maguire is one of the youngest bright talents that’s already dubbed to be a great success over at Sheffield United. The young midfielder is only 16 years of age and yet, it seems that he’s been impressing the right people at such a rate that the word has already spread through the media and possibly even other clubs.

But Maguire has been with the Blades since before the U12 level and has only recently signed a two-year scholarship deal after turning 16 in July 2019. Needless to say, he is still far too early into his development to be in the conversation for a possible first-team appearance or even to be knocking on the door for an opportunity within Chris Wilder’s squad.

Still, despite his young age and clearly lack of any kind of experience under his belt, the 16-year-old prodigy has gotten a taste of the U23 level action due to his sheer talent and potential that simply had to be tested against the older squads who would be more of a challenge for someone of his skill set.

Maguire progressed onto an apprenticeship at Sheffield United Academy, which is divided between his development as a footballer and also ensuring he continues his education, after finishing his studies at the UTC in June 2019.

So at the very moment, he is studying a BTEC Level 3 NVQ qualification in Sport along with an FA coaching qualification while also spending time ironing out his technical abilities, tactical knowledge and also working on his overall fitness.

For a youngster at the very beginning of his career, he’s taking big steps to ensure he’s ready once the opportunity arises. And given the talent he possesses, that opportunity might be just around the corner for the young gem.

Transfer latest

Since we are talking about a 16-year-old kid who’s still in the academy at the club, it doesn’t surprise that there are currently no transfer rumours or transfer news surrounding Maguire. The latest piece of Sheffield United news coming out of the camp was the signing of his two-year scholarship last year but other than that, the mill has gone silent.

Of course, the midfielder has been named as the top young talent at Sheffield United for the year 2019 by Guardian last year, which is definitely a big recognition of his potential and current state of development.

As time goes on and Maguire manages to tally more minutes under his belt in the development squads, we are bound to start hearing of him again.

Player profile

Not much footage is available for scouting when it comes to the young prodigy but what we can gather from the limited data that’s available is that Maguire is an industrious midfielder, good on the ball, fast on his feet and with a keen eye for a pass.

So far, he’s been excelling in the technical department and also showing a certain dose of maturity when it comes to decision making, leadership skills and overall mental prowess that seems to be developed beyond his young age.

But there is also the physical aspect and he is fitter and more aggressive than most of his peers, which mixes well with his great on the ball abilities. Maguire is quite tall as well and can be an asset when marking or tackling the ball away from the opposition players.

It does seem like he could transform into a great box-to-box midfielder in due time and is well on his way towards reaching the highest levels.