There is an old saying that it is always darkest before the dawn. Manchester United fans would be forgiven for believing that dawn will never come, having endured 12 years of darkness after the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson.
United currently lie 13th in the Premier League table and have lost five out of their last six league games at home, the place once known as “fortress Old Trafford”.
When Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought his minority stake in the club and took charge of football matters, he famously said:
“What I would rather do is try to sign the next Mbappé than spend a fortune trying to buy success.
“It’s not that clever buying Mbappé, anyone can figure that one out. What’s much more challenging is to find the next Mbappé or Bellingham or Roy Keane.”
Potential to be unlocked
Sir Jim has certainly put his money where his mouth is so far, having bought seven players for the senior squad since his Ineos team moved in, the oldest (Noussair Mazraoui) being 26 and two being just 18.
Ineos have also bought several prospects who are now plying their trade in the academy. Hubert Graczyk, James Overy, Sekou Koné, Samuel Lusale and Chido Obi are all hugely talented starlets that are Ineos-bought Manchester United players.
January additions Ayden Heaven, 18 and Patrick Dorgu, 20, have gone straight into the first-team squad, with Dorgu already making his debut against Leicester City on Friday.
Of course, not all of these hopefuls will make the grade. For whatever reason, prospects do not always fulfil their potential. Just two and a half years ago, this author predicted a United XI of the future and most of the names mentioned did not make the cut, for example, Ethan Laird, Zidane Iqbal, Will Fish, Hannibal, Facundo Pellistri, Charlie McNeill and Teden Mengi, although the latter is still only 22 and looked the part during Luton’s brief flirtation with the Premier League.
Others have become successful, including Alvaro Carreras (now at Benfica) and Alejandro Garnacho and Amad at United.
The article also mentions Kobbie Mainoo and Willy Kambwala (now doing well at Villarreal) and several more who could still make the United senior squad.
Under construction
That being said, United’s financial woes mean that there is little choice other than to invest in youth and bust a gut to ensure as many reach their true potential as possible. And if we allow ourselves to dream a little and to assume most will do so, then we can again look into the future with huge optimism that within even one or two years, United could have a world-class team again capable of taking the club into the middle of the next decade.
Our United team of the future, based entirely on players already at the club, can be seen here.
Of course, transfers won’t stop coming in but we have every reason to expect Ineos to continue targeting young players. There are a few names that are already on the shortlist and with the addition of just three or four of these this summer, you can already see a team that, while still all 22 years of age or under, could hit the ground running in the Premier League as early as next season.
There may never be another class of 92, but there is every reason to be excited about the project Ineos is undertaking. Moreover, in Ruben Amorim, they also have a head coach who has just turned 40 and who could also be in it for the long haul.
Nobody can foresee when United’s new dawn will come, but one thing we can say for sure is that almost everything that is being done at the club is about the future and making that dawn come as soon and as brightly as possible.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Red Billy
Red Billy is the managing editor of The Peoples Person, author of three books and totally obsessed with football’s transfer market. Billy still insists Matteo Darmian and Alex Telles could have made it at United given half a chance.
