United snap up Belgian wonderkid — reports

Before we begin, a caveat. Manchester United, the club, the Twitter account, the corporate entity, have not confirmed this transfer. We're very much in the land of "reportedly" and "according to". Though those reports are coming from most reputable place, so this might well be a thing.

So here goes. HLN, everybody's favourite Belgian newspaper, tells us that 16-year-old Genk prospect Indy Boonen has signed a three-year contract at Old Trafford. With thanks as ever to our hard-working interpreter, Mr G. Translate:

Marouane Fellaini and Adnan Januzaj get at Manchester United the company of a young countryman Indy Boonen, only 16, has signed a three-year contract with the English club.

Boonen's arrival follows that of Timothy Fosu-Mensah, the young Dutch defender who joined in the summer, and we can perhaps assume that Louis van Gaal is exploiting his contacts in the Low Countries. Apparently United are also interested in his 13-year-old brother Seppe, and the family Boonen relocated to Manchester in June. As for Indy, the Daily Mail reckon he can play attacking midfield or left-back, and as such tBB is delighted to proclaim him the new Quinton Fortune.

However. One tiny doubt lingers about this story, provoked by the picture that most papers are attaching to the story. This, apparently, comes from the youngster's Facebook profile:

Now, this picture isn't that old: uncropped versions reveal that to be Januzaj's shirt, and he's only been wearing No. 11 this season. And ... well. That kid's on a stadium tour, and that kid's ten. Eleven at the most. Maybe twelve, at a stretch. But sixteen? Belgian skincare regimes must be sensational.