Ghanaian Lisa Heaven, mother and agent of Manchester United’s Ayden Heaven

Lisa made the decision to become Ayden’s agent when he was 16 because no one else convinced her they could see his potential. She was never in any doubt.

“This is a business but in order for the business to be successful you have to understand what – [turning to Ayden] I know you’re my son – but what your product is,” she says. “I didn’t feel anybody understood him and believed in him.”

When it came to agreeing terms with United, Lisa was clear Ayden didn’t want to spend more time in the academy. As far as they were concerned, he had outgrown it and that’s why he was leaving Arsenal.

Jason Wilcox, United’s sporting director, agreed the 18-year-old was ready. Lisa and the lawyers she describes as “Ayden’s co-agents”, Andy Squires May and Karim Bouzidi from Clintons law firm, carried out the negotiations. Nine days after his visit, Ayden was announced.

As well as the magic of Old Trafford, it was the opportunities he could see at United that convinced Ayden of the move. “I just saw myself in the squad,” he says, “because there’s not much in our way, so I just felt like I could establish myself better than at other clubs.”

Lisandro Martinez was his competition at United for that left-sided centre-back spot in Ruben Amorim’s back three and, in the same game Ayden was introduced to Old Trafford with fellow new-signing Patrick Dorgu, the Argentine suffered a season-ending injury.

This opened the door for Ayden earlier than even he anticipated. “I was really surprised,” he says, when asked about making his Premier League debut against Arsenal. “I knew when the opportunity came I could take it, and I feel like I’ve been doing it so far.”

His situation at Arsenal could not have been more different. Already behind Gabriel and Jakub Kiwior in the pecking order at left-centre-back, Riccardo Calafiori was then signed for £42m after Ayden had been given minutes on the club’s US tour in pre-season.

Ayden was in Arsenal’s first-team squad photo in September, but the next few months showed he wasn’t really in the picture. His only appearance was off the bench for the final 10 minutes of a 3-0 win over Preston in the Carabao Cup last-16.

“[Leaving Arsenal] was a bittersweet moment because they had been so good with him,” says Lisa. “I felt like he had a good relationship with Mikel Arteta and the first team. But the pathway wasn’t there for him. He was ready for that next step.”

Being brought on against Arsenal so soon after signing for United was a clear indication that Ayden had made the right move for his career. The response of his former team-mates at the full-time whistle demonstrated that they understood that too.

“They showed [me] a lot of love after the game,” says Ayden, who was inundated with hugs and handshakes from the players he had trained with for the past two years.

Arsenal had offered Ayden a new contract but could see what was unfolding for him. “They agreed Ayden had to move on for his development,” says Lisa. “It was our decision which club we went to, and Ayden made it for everyone.”

Ayden and Lisa spoke to Amorim on their visit to Old Trafford in January. United’s head coach was visibly impressed by the sheer size of Ayden, around 6ft3in, having made no secret of his desire to improve the physicality of the team since being appointed.

It isn’t just Ayden’s size Amorim likes. The teenager’s poise in possession, coupled with his impressive ability as a ball-carrier, make him an ideal fit for the system Amorim wants to play at United.

“I’d been watching United, I knew Ayden’s playing style and I knew what Ruben liked,” says Lisa, who was encouraged by the way the coach planned to utilise her son. “Ayden had the same confidence.”

Amorim wants his back three to contribute to the build-up in ways other coaches rely on their midfielders to do so. Ayden’s suitability to the role makes more sense when you learn he used to be a midfielder.

World Cup-winning centre-back Per Mertesacker, recently appointed Arsenal academy manager when Ayden arrived at the club as a left-winger aged 12, was responsible for identifying his best position.

“He’s not a winger, he’s a defender,” Mertesacker would tell Lisa. She disagreed for a while but says the former Arsenal captain was convinced of Ayden being a centre-back as soon as he saw him play.

“Ayden just kept growing and went to defensive midfield and Per said, ‘no, back a bit more’. I remember watching Ayden in defence for the first time and thinking, ‘maybe Per knows what he’s talking about’. I feel like Per had a huge impact on Ayden’s development,” says Lisa.

Ayden turned to academy football aged six after it became obvious he had outgrown grassroots when Lisa was told during one particular game not to bring him back again.

“The score was 17-1 and they pulled me to one side,” says Lisa. “‘He’s ruining the game for everyone, the kids on his team are crying because he’s not passing’. He was literally dribbling through everyone and scoring all the goals.”

Finding a footballing home for a football-obsessed Ayden proved troublesome until Arsenal arrived on the scene. “Ayden never had that coach in an academy that [said], ‘this is how we’re going to work for him’,” says Lisa.

“All he needed was someone to throw a lot of strategic information at him, which he didn’t get from a young age. It led to him getting released for not sitting still at the age of six, seven, eight.”

Arsenal had known about Ayden for a while, but didn’t have the space to sign him up until he was 12. When he got to Hale End, everything changed.

“That was probably the only club that took Ayden for who he was,” says Lisa. “[They] worked with him and understood what kind of player he could be.”

It so nearly panned out differently, though. When Arsenal finally came calling, Lisa was with Ayden in the car park at Tottenham ready to sign for them.

“I’m looking at Ayden like ‘what do you want to do?’,” says Lisa. “‘Do we carry on walking or do I take this call?'” As soon as Arsenal heard what was happening, they promised to have Ayden in by the end of the week.

“We walked straight to the reception area and said ‘thank you for this opportunity’ but we’re going to go and give it a go at Arsenal down the road.”

Perhaps not the hardest decision for an Arsenal-supporting family, but one of the most crucial on Ayden’s journey. Lining up against them on his Premier League debut wasn’t in the plan but, without them, he may never have got there.

Ayden Heaven is Next Up.

Source; Skysports