Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to push through a new blueprint at Manchester United and he’s already set his sights on one homegrown star
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Manchester United will look to bring in English names under their stewardship of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the club see Brentford striker Ivan Toney as an ideal fit.
The Ineos chief, whose 25 per cent stake in the Premier League giants is set to be announced in the coming weeks, wants to drastically overhaul the club’s infrastructure and recruitment, believing that the club should focus more on domestic targets for forthcoming windows.
One of the players that Man Utd have been closely monitoring is Brentford forward Toney, reports the Daily Mail. It's thought that the former Newcastle player will leave the Bees in the summer, with Chelsea and Arsenal also keen on acquiring his services.
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In keeping with Man Utd’s new philosophy, they are reportedly expressing interest in Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi, though it’s another deal that’s unlikely to materialise until the summer transfer window.
Indeed, Ratcliffe is looking to direct a revamped recruitment team whose priority will be the acquisition of homegrown talent.
The club have traditionally been one of the best in class in bringing through young English talent, epitomised by the trophy-laden tenure of Sir Alex Ferguson, but in more recent years they have spent money buying names from overseas.
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Since the departure of Ferguson in 2013, there have only been seven notable homegrown signings, including Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Daniel James, Jadon Sancho, Mason Mount, and Jonny Evans, who’s currently enjoying his second stint at Old Trafford.
Most of their significant buys in the post-Ferguson years have come from abroad, and that’s believed this is a cause contributing to their recent slump.
Ratcliffe’s ambition is to bring about the blueprint that saw such dominance ten years ago, which is why there is an ambition to recruit new members of the Man Utd board and strip Erik ten Hag of some of his power in this regard.
Jacque Talbot is a freelance football journalist who predominantly specialises in transfer stories and exclusives. He began his career in 2016 covering the world-renowned Sandbach United, of North West Counties fame, before earning a spot on the sports desks of national papers, where he bounced between several outlets such as Sportbible, the Express, Mirror, and Daily Star. An NCTJ graduate of the News Associates who swapped investigative journalism in the Costa del Sol for football reporting in Northern England, he first wrote for FourFourTwo in December 2023.
