An Ivory Coast-born starlet, who has been labelled an "unreal talent" and compared to Lionel Messi, made his much-anticipated debut for Manchester United on Thursday.

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Winger Amad Diallo, who was signed from Atalanta in October but could only complete his transfer in January, came on as a late substitute in United's 4-0 thrashing of Real Sociedad in the UEFA Europa League this week.

The 18-year-old was compared to Messi by former Atalanta captain Papu Gomez, who said a few months back: "He's a future star, trust me. During our training, he seems like Messi! You can't stop him."

Although Diallo could not make much of an impact in his short cameo off the bench, Red Devils legend Paul Scholes was also full of praise for the youngster after the the match.

"We didn't see much of him tonight," he said on a BT Sport UEL broadcast.

"He looks a talented player. I watched the U23s last week. He scored a goal and made a couple of goals.

"He's got unreal talent, a nice left foot. Is he quick? I'm not too sure, I haven't seen that yet.

"Creative player, very young at 18. Give him time and hopefully he can do."

Diallo has featured twice for United's U23 side so far, scoring three times and setting up a further three goals.

He joined the Red Devils from Atalanta at a reported cost of €21 million (R370 million) after impressing in the Serie A side's youth teams and making five first-team appearances.

Click through the gallery below to check out some transfers that have already confirmed for next season: