It was a transfer like no other at the time.

Manchester United once signed a nine-year-old footballer off the back of seeing his compilation video - but what has happened to the player now?

Nowadays, the Internet is flooded with stories of young academy prospects who are tipped to become the next Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, while any spectacular moment at amateur levels will quickly go viral.

Back in 2007, though, things were slightly different. YouTube had only been founded two years earlier in the United States, while you might struggle to find many people who knew what Twitter was. The closest you got to TikTok was waiting another two years for Kesha to release her hit song.

The best way to get a top club to notice you was either by chance - an encounter at a local game, for instance - or by sending a DVD directly to the club in the hope that they would see it.

While some managers might not always get back to young players, there are plenty of stories of Sir Alex Ferguson doing exactly the opposite.

An 18-year-old, newly released by Macclesfield, once delivered his own compilation DVD directly to Ferguson's home address in Wilmslow - with the United boss promising to watch it.

The Scot did just that, and subsequently invited the player for a trial.

In the case of Davis, his grandad sent over a DVD of the nine-year-old playing football in Brisbane, Australia, where his family was living at the time.

United scouts watched the videos, invited him to participate in several training sessions and then offered him a contract.

Davis would play in the same age group as Marcus Rashford, telling The Athletic in 2023 that the future United and England star was 'the standout and always has been'.

The midfielder continued to work his way up through the youth ranks, but then suffered a broken leg when he was 14 years old.

Davis described the injury as a 'turning point' as far as United's subsequent decision not to give him a scholarship contract at 15, but also added: "It was all up in the air, and what is to say I would get one? I probably wasn't going to. But it didn't help the process and it didn't help me going on to look elsewhere."

After working his way back to full fitness, Davis decided to focus on his education and went to university, where he studied business and economics in Sheffield.

Although he now works full-time in finance, the midfielder - who is now 26 - has remained in football, and is still based in Lancashire.

After a spell with Altrincham, Davis has most recently been playing his club football for Manchester-based West Didsbury & Chorlton, who play in the North West Counties League Premier Division.

The club has been home to a number of high-profile players over recent years, including current Bolton winger Carlos Mendes Gomes and Gibraltar international Jack Sargeant.

Last week, he signed for divisional rivals Cheadle Town, who finished a position above the midfielder's former club last season.

Twitter

On his current life, Davis told The Athletic: "Things didn't turn out how I wished for at United, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

"People still make tongue-in-cheek comments [about the YouTube video] in passing, but nothing like they used to!

"One kid used to call me wonderkid... it is all fun and games."

https://youtu.be/CRfIFuGxaKM?si=vzQcmszwgPY7WvWJ

Selena Gomez reveals the meaning of her new hit song Single Soon: 'It's a playful anthem about being comfortable in your own skin'

Selena Gomez explained the meaning behind her newly released song Single Soon on Friday.

The day after releasing the catchy track, the singer, 31, took to her Instagram to share a black-and-white photo from the adjoining music video and also thanked her fans for their support.

In her caption, she left a short but sweet message and provided insight into the significance of her song.

The Only Murders in the Building actress — who recently made a rare remark on her breakup with Justin Bieber — began: 'Thank you guys for all the love on Single Soon!!!

'It's a playful anthem about being comfortable in your own skin and loving your own company,' she continued.

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Real meaning: Selena Gomez explained the meaning behind her newly released song Single Soon on Friday, while sharing a snap for the music video

Alongside a pink hearts emoji, she added, 'And it's also really fun to dance to!'

The solo picture she had shared was of a shot from her music video — which she dropped on Thursday night.

In the scene, she was dressed in a slinky and sexy minidress as she laughed and danced with her gal pals post-breakup.

Her many fans — of which she boasts about 428 million on Instagram alone — raved about her musical comeback.

With Single Soon, this marks her first solo track release in three years.

Many of her fans praised the song and gushed that it was 'heartwarming' to see her so 'carefree, happy and confident' after a slew of personal struggles in the past.

On August 17, she announced to fans that she would be finally dropping some new music and revealed the release date.

She shared a carousel of images teasing the music video release and wrote in her caption: 'Y'all have been asking for new music for a while.

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Thankful: The day after releasing the catchy track, the singer, 31, took to her Instagram to thank her fans for their support

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Flying solo: 'It's a playful anthem about being comfortable in your own skin and loving your own company,' she told fans

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New music: Single Soon is the first single from her upcoming album as well as her first musical release since her Spanish-language EP Revelacion — which was released in March 2021

Selena Gomez teases her upcoming song 'Single Soon' on TikTok

In her inscription, she also teased a forthcoming third studio album to the excitement of her fans.

'Since I'm not quite done with SG3, I wanted to put out a fun little song I wrote a while back that's perfect for the end of summer.'

The track was produced by benny blanco and Cashmere Cat, and the video adjoining music video was directed by Philip Andelman.

Single Soon is the first single from her upcoming album as well as her first musical release since her Spanish-language EP Revelacion — which was released in March 2021.