By being committed to replenishing Manchester United’s squad, Ed Woodward is building around homegrown talents and world-class signings.
According to Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, Manchester United’s squad rebuild will continue under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and he said the manager retains the trust. Also, he has emphasized that the rebuild will be continuing on two pillars, “world-class signings” and academy products.
Manchester United announced their second-quarter financial results for 2020 on Tuesday, with much of the focus on a 17 per cent fall in operating profits to £36.5million.
After the announcement, Woodward who spoke on a conference call with investors highlighted the club’s commitment to replenishing the squad.
Bruno Fernandes, the Portugal international who got added in January made a solid early impact on the United team and Woodward outlined the club’s plans to continue adding ready-made “world-class” players and highly rated academy products to Solskjaer’s squad.
In a statement to investors, Woodward said:
“Now, I want to provide an overview of progress towards our number one priority – winning trophies with a team playing entertaining, attacking football.
“Since our last call in November we have progressed to the knockout stages of the Europa League; we are through to the fifth round in the FA Cup, and we remain in the mix to qualify for the Champions League.
“This season is one of rebuild, with many changes to the squad – in terms of players who have left or gone out on loan; new players who we have brought into the club; and academy graduates that we have brought through to the first team. This process will continue as we implement our plan and our footballing vision under Ole and his coaching staff.
“Despite being linked in the media to 111 players in January, our acquisition of just one of them – Bruno Fernandes – is an important step in that direction, demonstrating our commitment to adding experienced, world-class recruits to the exciting crop of academy graduates that are at the heart of this developing team. We will take the same planned, disciplined, approach this coming summer”
Ed Woodward also spoke about the marquee signings and was much more happy about the youth player acquisition from different clubs. Manchester United acquired the services of Dillon Hoogewerf and Hannibal Mejbri in the summer transfer window who re constantly featuring for the youth setup at Carrington.
“In addition to the first team signings, somewhat under the radar, we have also made a number of exciting youth acquisitions in the past year, reflecting our commitment to bringing the best talent into our academy.
“So far our academy graduates have contributed over a third of first team playing minutes this season and over half of our goals, emphasising our academy’s status as one of the most productive in elite-level European football.
“This is an important competitive advantage for us and represents an excellent return on the fourfold increase in investment that we have made in the academy over recent years.”
Also, Red Devils announced the new professional contracts for the overperforming and eye-catching players like U-23 goalkeeper Paul Woolston and 18-year-old right-back Ethan Laird. Ethan Laird has featured in the first team of Manchester United in two Europa League games where he started in one against Astana before being handed the professional contract by Manchester United management and Ed Woodward.
Is this the sign of changes coming at Old Trafford? Is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer being ruthless and weeding out the unwanted players and bringing in the fresh legs to improve the results? Is it the logical choice or a forced one? Comment your opinions below
