Charlie Savage completed a move to League One Reading on Saturday – ending his 15-year association with Manchester United after graduating from the club’s fabled academy
I have mixed emotions about my son Charlie ending his 15-year association with Manchester United and making a permanent move to Reading.
My first-born has left home, and I’m going to miss kicking a ball around the back garden with him as well as the trails of mess around the house! But I couldn’t be more proud of what he’s achieved and the mature decision he’s taken to test himself in League One when he could have stuck around at Old Trafford seeing out the two-year option on his contract.
At 20, Charlie has decided to follow his own pathway and, as a family, we support his choice to leave one of the world’s biggest football clubs in search of regular first-team game time instead of his career potentially stagnating at Under-21 level.
The snipers will always make their cheap shots about him making more appearances for United than his old man. But I will never forget the moment he came off the bench to make his debut against Young Boys in the Champions League when I was co-commentating for BT Sport.