Northern Premier League side Macclesfield FC have signed the former Manchester United winger D’Mani Bughail-Mellor, despite the 23 year old signing a short-term deal with Gateshead in August.
D’Mani has been looking for a new club having been released by Wycombe Wanderers at the end of last season. The winger had a number of trials this summer with fellow National League sides AFC Fylde and Hartlepool United and seemed to have found his home for a period of time in Gateshead two weeks ago. However, Mellor has signed a deal with the ambitious Northern Premier League side.
Who is D’Mani Mellor?
Having joined Manchester United at the age of eight, the 23 year old eventually made his first team debut and only ever appearance for the Red Devils in a 2019 UEFA Europa League game against Kazakhstan Premier League side, Astana.
After a loan spell with Salford City, the 23 year old moved to Wycombe in 2022 but never had an impact in Buckinghamshire, making 13 appearances in a two year spell for the Chairboys. He spent the majority of his time out on loan with spells at Rochdale and Sutton United.
After a number of trials this summer and an unsuccessful couple of weeks at Gateshead, D’Mani has taken a step down the pyramid to sign for Macclesfield FC ahead of their trip to Stockton Town this weekend.
Why have Macclesfield signed Mellor?
Despite the majority of his career being played in the fourth and fifth tier of English football, the former Manchester United attacker has taken a significant drop down the pyramid to join the Silkmen.
Despite the drop, Mellor may only see this as a short term one given the ambition that Macclesfield have. Having formed after the winding up of the original Macclesfield Town, there is the ambition to get back to the EFL where they were competing in prior to the phoenix club’s formation.
Coupled with this is the fact that Mellor has not consistently been first choice within the side’s he’s previously played for. Dropping down the pyramid to Macclesfield may allow the 23 year old to become a first team regular and show his talent that saw him progress through Manchester United’s youth system to the first team.
What could Mellor bring to Macclesfield?
The 23 year old is a direct and pacy winger who likes to run at the opposition and look to beat them in 1:1 situations. During his time in League Two with Rochdale in 2022-23, D’Mani completed on average 1.14 successful dribbles per 90 minutes with a success rate of 50%. Despite the low success rate, it shows that the winger was prepared to take his full-back on and attempt to get into a position where he could create chances.
His desire to engage with opposition higher up the pitch was shown in the fact that he won possession back in the final third at an average of 0.73 times per 90 minutes. Mellor is also prepared to do the defensive duties in his preferred left wing position having won 66.7% of tackles made during the 2022-23 season.
With a move closer to home and Manchester, the 23 year old may get to have a consistent run of games in the Northern Premier League where he can develop further while both himself and the Silkmen will hope they can progress up the football league back to where they feel they belong.
