Sir Jim Ratcliffe has criticised Manchester United’s academy and says he wants youth production at Carrington to help improve finances at the club.
The United co-owner is leading an overhaul of the club in a bid to restore United as a leading force in football. Ratcliffe’s INEOS holds a minority 28.94 per cent stake in the club after investing in 2024 and oversee football operations despite the Glazer family still remaining majority owners.
United have a great history of producing young talent and they have had an academy product in every first-team matchday squad since 1937. But that has not stopped Ratcliffe, 72, from calling for improvement of the youth set-up.
“The other thing that we haven’t even begun to start with is the academy, which is fundamentally important in football,” Ratcliffe told The Times’ The Business Podcast.
“The academy has really slipped at Manchester United. But you need the academy to be producing talent all the time. It helps you financially. And you have to have a certain number of British players in your squad.”
United’s Carrington training base was redeveloped at a cost of £50million while they are planning further changes to improve academy facilities, as revealed by The Athletic earlier this week, but this may take many years.
Despite improvements to the men’s first-team facilities, the under-21s and under-18s are to be housed in temporary cabins in the players’ car park as no plans were made for their inclusion in the revamped complex.
United do fall behind rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, who often sell academy players with little or no first-team football for significant sums, in terms of generating income from their youth squads.
Last season, United were second in the Premier League for minutes given to teenagers.
Ratcliffe’s comments come after academy director Nick Cox was headhunted by Everton to become their technical director. Stephen Torpey, who worked with director of football Jason Wilcox at City, has been brought in from Brentford to replace Cox.
Cox was highly regarded and helped 35 players progress through the ranks to the first team during his time at Carrington.
A number of long-serving youth coaches have departed United due to cutbacks at the club, while The Athletic reported on Monday head of academy recruitment Luke Fedorenko will depart having accepted an offer to work for a major football agency.
Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho, who was sold to Chelsea this summer for £40m, are the latest to come through at United and win major honours, having been part of the 2024 FA Cup winning side.
Despite their temporary home, United’s U21s and U18s are top of their divisions after 11 wins from 12 combined games this season.