Manchester United: Livingston forward Matthew Knox arrives at Carrington for trial with Red Devils

Manchester United have handed a trial to Livingston FC forward Matthew Knox, who has already spent time on trial with a number of Premier League clubs since his debut for the Scottish Championship club on Boxing Day in 2015. The 16-year-old forward has spent time on trial with Tottenham, Everton and Liverpool thus far.

According to Manchester Evening News, Knox will spend a week at United's Carrington training complex after the club were alerted to his potential following his debut, which made him Livingston's youngest ever player. Apart from the Red Devils, Premier League rivals Chelsea are also said to be considering handing the young forward a trial.

The Scotland U17 international's father, Matthew, has confirmed that a number of Premier League clubs have shown interest in his son, who has made two appearances for the Scottish Championship club thus far in his career.

"He's had interest from Manchester United and Chelsea and he's been on trials at Spurs, Everton and Liverpool," the young forward's father told the East Lothian Courier, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.

Louis van Gaal has shown keen interest in developing the youth setup at United and has signed a number of young players during his tenure at the club. The Dutch manager has also proved that he is not scared to blood youngsters in the first-team squad, and has proved by handing out debuts to a number of academy players during the course of the 2015/16 season.

Cameron-Borthwick Jackson, Guillermo Varela and Axel Tuanzebe have all made it to the first-team this season, with the former two even making their debut in the Premier League and Champions League.

United defender Chris Smalling has heaped praise on Borthwick-Jackson following the youngster's assured performance during their 1-0 win over Liverpool on Sunday (17 January). The young left-back was thrust into the limelight when he was brought on to replace the injured Ashley Young with more than an hour left in the game.

"I think he showed he is ready for a stage like this. He has been drip fed quite a few games this season and he has done very well. To be able to stand up here and perform like he did shows he is ready for any game because if you can perform here then you can perform anywhere in the league," Smalling told United's official site.