Omar Berrada plans to move on underperforming players much quicker than the previous regime
(Image credit: Getty Images)
New Manchester United CEO Omar Berrada has outlined his intention to move underperforming players out of the club quickly rather than allowing them to stay too long.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Berrada believes that new signings need to hit their stride within two years of joining or be sold on to strengthen the squad. In recent times, Man United have often been accused of rewarding failure for granting new contracts to inconsistent players in order to preserve their value regardless of their contribution on the pitch.
The likes of Anthony Martial, Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof and Juan Mata have all benefited from this arrangement when most observers felt the club should have moved them on much earlier.
Victor Lindelof applauds the supporters after a win over Luton Town (Image credit: Getty Images)
Berrada is reportedly aiming to end this culture of complacency that has led to many players outstaying their welcome on big contracts.
His appointment was announced on Saturday as part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's efforts to reinvigorate Man United after more than a decade of managed decline under the Glazer family.
Berrada arrives from the City Football Group, where he served as Chief Football Operations Officer, and previously held senior roles at Barcelona.
He will be using this experience in an effort to restore Man United to former glories, with a coherent approach running throughout the club.
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Donny van de Beek watches on from the sidelines (Image credit: Getty Images)
This could result in several players being culled from the United squad to make way for new arrivals and a fresh start.
The likes of Martial, Lindelof, Diogo Dalot, Donny van de Beek, Antony and Jadon Sancho would be most at risk having consistently fallen short of the standards expected.
They are all on high wages, potentially freeing up money to reinvest in the squad and start challenging for major trophies again.
Sean Cole is a freelance journalist. He has written for FourFourTwo, BBC Sport and When Saturday Comes among others. A Birmingham City supporter and staunch Nikola Zigic advocate, he once scored a hat-trick at St. Andrew’s (in a half-time game). He also has far too many football shirts and spends far too much time reading the Wikipedia pages of obscure players.
