Sharpe may have joined from Torquay United, on this day in 1988, rather than second-tier Swansea City, who were a Premier League side very recently, but he was an exciting capture from the lower divisions whose primary asset was his explosive pace.
A left-winger, like James, he had the raw attributes that caught Alex Ferguson’s eye and a deal worth around £185,000 was finalised with the Devon club in rather cloak-and-dagger circumstances. The story goes that this 16-year-old rookie was recommended to United by ex-Manchester journalist Len Noad.
The Reds manager decided to make a personal check on the wide-man in a first-team fixture against Colchester United and, although by Sharpe’s own admission he did not have the best of games, his attitude and physical prowess impressed Ferguson and his assistant Archie Knox.