Manchester United set to hand trial to Southport's 19-year-old striker Drew Lewis

Manchester United are reportedly set to offer Southport teenager Drew Lewis a trial after impressing for the Conference club's reserve team this season.

According to the Daily Mail, the young striker, who scored 38 goals for the reserve team this season, has attracted the attention of various league clubs, but United have moved ahead of the queue and offered him a trial.

Louis van Gaal has made strengthening the youth side a priority since his arrival at Old Trafford this summer, and if Lewis is signed following his trial, he will become the third youth signing of 2015, following the arrival of Sadiq El Fitouri from Salford City on an 18-month contract and the deadline day signing of Andy Kellett on-loan from Bolton.

Apart from the above mentioned duo, the Dutchman also signed Vanja Milinkovic-Savic from Vojvodina and Timothy Fosu-Mensah from Ajax.

If Manchester United decide to sign the Southport forward, he will be the second non-league player to make the step up to the Premier League following the signing of El Fitouri from Salford City.

Southport will be hoping to hold on to the 19-year-old striker, as the Conference club are tethering just a point above the relegation zone and will need the striker's goals to help them avoid the drop.

Meanwhile, Ashley Young has expressed delight after United secured a 3-1 win over Preston North End to enter the quarter finals of the FA Cup.

"We showed that fighting spirit that we've always had throughout the years. We went a goal down, but got ourselves back into the game," Young told United's official site.

"It was disappointing [to go behind] with all the possession we'd had. We had to fight back, we said before the game that we wanted to get through to the quarter-final and we've done that so we're delighted," the English winger added.