A few months ago, for the first time in two years, David Manasseh boarded a flight heading abroad.
The super-agent, who has negotiated some of the world’s biggest deals, including Gareth Bale’s transfer to Real Madrid, had an unusual destination.
He was flying to Hungary to meet a boy named Zalan Vancsa.
Manasseh’s company, ICM Stellar Sport, represents some of the world’s elite players, from Jack Grealish to top teenage talents Jeremy Doku and Eduardo Camavinga.
They had been tracking Vancsa for a year, and Manasseh was keen to make the 17-year-old his first ever Hungarian client.
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It did not take long, either, before the two of them put pen to paper on an agreement which caps off what has been an outstanding breakthrough year for the teenage winger.
From Vancsa’s exploits in Hungary’s top flight with MTK Budapest, to his impressive five goals and two assists in four UEFA Youth League games, he has established himself as one of the best talents to have emerged from Hungary in the 21st century.
His ascent has surprised even the most ardent footballs enthusiasts in the country. But the truth is, Vancsa’s destiny had been preordained even before he was born.
Football is in Vancsa’s blood. His father, Miklos, played close to 300 games in Hungary’s top flight, representing the likes of MTK Budapest and Videoton.
It was only natural for Zalan to take up the sport himself.
“I remember, he couldn’t walk, he was leaning on the sofa, but he was already kicking the ball,” Miklos Vancsa tells GOAL.
“By the time he started walking, football was a central part of his life.”
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Zalan’s brother, Milan, agrees.
“He played football every day after school, running around changing his football shirts and pretending to score – he was completely in love with the game.”
Zalan joined his father’s former club, MTK Budapest, at a young age.
At youth level, he stood out straight away, and by the time he was 15, Vancsa was training regularly with the club’s first team and tearing Hungary’s Under-19s league to shreds.
“I saw him playing in U19s for the first time.” Michael Boris, who made Vancsa the second-youngest player in MTK’s history aged just 16 years and 180 days in April 2021, recalls to GOAL.
“Wow! He was very quick and had excellent technique. I liked that he was very skilful, but he didn’t just keep the ball, he could finish the action with a key pass or a shot.”
In the summer, Boris was dismissed from his position as MTK manager, but his successor, Giovanni Costantino, shared his admiration for Vancsa.
“I think he has something extra, something that is special. He has potential, he needs to work for sure, but he has all the skills to be a top player,” Costantino tells GOAL.
Under Costantino, Vancsa caught the eye during pre-season, even captaining the senior side, and his performances were enough to warrant giving him a regular place in the club’s first-team squad.
Vancsa’s first competitive appearance for his new head-coach would become a memorable one, as Costantino subbed the youngster on against Ujpest in August with 20 minutes to go and MTK trailing by a goal.
“I said to him be ready because you will come in and decide the match,” Costantino chuckles. Little did he know, his words would become prophetic.
MTK forward, Bojan Miovski, pulled one back to level the game two minutes after Vancsa was introduced, and by the 90th minute, it seemed like the match was heading into a stalemate. Both teams had become idle and the pace of the game had slowed.
Still full of an abundance of energy, Vancsa, however, had not given up on Costantino’s demand. He chased down a hopeful ball by Miovski and intercepted a hasty clearance.
The ball fell fortuitously in his path and Vancsa broke through clear on goal, slotting the ball into the back of the net with a deft finish to decide the game in MTK’s favour.
The goal made him the youngest player in the club’s history to score a top-flight goal in 100 years, and the sixth-youngest to score in Hungary's top division, with Vancsa only a month older than Ferenc Puskas was when he found the net for the first time at that level.
“The whole 2021 year that Zalan has produced has been incredible,” Miklos Vancsa says. “Sometimes, I wake up in the morning and I pinch myself and wonder if this is really happening to us.”
Having become the centre of attention in the country at such a young age, some would struggle with the intense scrutiny, but Vancsa has thrived under the additional pressure.
Aside from averaging 0.44 goals per 90 for MTK’s first team this season, Vancsa – who is right-footed but plays predominantly off the left – has also caught the eye in the UEFA Youth League.
With MTK in the 'Domestic Champions' path of the competition, Vancsa recorded seven goal contributions in just 350 minutes against Sparta Prague and Genk, before the Belgian outfit knocked the Hungarians out in the second round.
The only things missing from the jigsaw is recognition on the international stage.
Vancsa netted a brace and registered an assist against Serbia for Hungary’s U17 side earlier this year, but despite his regular minutes in Hungary’s top flight, he has not yet been called upon at U19 or U21 level.
That is a move that has not only surprised his father, but leading Premier League scouts too.
“A scout [from a recent Premier League champion] went to Hungary’s U19 match against Italy in November, expecting to see Zalan. When he saw he wasn’t in the squad, he was very surprised,” Miklos Vancsa says. “He couldn’t believe the coaches had ignored him.”
With interest not just from the Premier League, but from top Champions League clubs all around Europe, Vancsa likely will not be ignored forever.
“I know he can jump over a lot of hurdles,” Vancsa’s father concludes. “He knows he has to fight for his career. There will be no red carpets. He is a fighter and ready for that challenge.”
“He’s a worker, he never complains, he gives everything. I believe he has the mentality to make the next step in his career,” Costantino agrees.
With interest intensifying for Vancsa’s services, the next challenge will be to find the right club to aid his metamorphosis as a footballer. A challenge ICM Stellar and David Manasseh are well equipped to handle.
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