Many young footballers dream of playing for Manchester United.

To say that you’ve appeared in front of tens of thousands at Old Trafford, for one of the most successful clubs in the history of the sport, must be an honour.

That’s why the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard must be so honoured.

The pair came through the academy at Man United to become members of the first team, following in the footsteps of the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville.

But it doesn’t always work out for everybody.

Ardent fans of the Red Devils may have heard of highly-rated attacker Indy Boonen, but many others won’t have.

Boonen signed for Man United in 2015 but returned to Belgium, his homeland, to join KV Oostende this past summer.

Court case

He was rated as one of the brightest talents at academy level but appeared in just 12 matches for the reserves last season.

Boonen left the club after rejecting a new contract - but Man United could be in trouble over the deal that brought the player to England three years ago.

United signed Boonen, 16 at the time, from Genk. The Sun have reported that the Belgian club are now taking the Premier League giants to court over the deal.

Genk are unhappy with the training compensation that Man United owe them. The Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear the case in Switzerland on October 12.

Boonen never made a first team appearance during his time at Old Trafford but he made an impression on his coaches.

Academy chief Kieran McKenna considered Boonen “one of the best finishers in the group”.

And he was also called up by Jose Mourinho to train with the senior squad on several occasions.

But Boonen rejected the chance to stay at the club, despite being offered a new three-year deal.

“I want playing time,” he told the Manchester Evening News upon his departure.