Ineos have brought about a lot of changes at Manchester United in their still short time in charge, but the one strategy change that has given immediate dividends has now been reported.
Not many would argue that of all the signings Man Utd have made under Ineos, two have been game-changers on and off the field.
Ayden Heaven and Chido Obi have been the kind of signings that the previous regime wouldn’t have made, or would have fumbled their development.
It has now been reported that a single transfer strategy change has been brought about by Ineos, which is seeing United make more of these types of signings.
Cerro Porteno's defender #37 Diego Leon (C) celebrates after scoring during the Copa Libertadores qualification second round second leg football match between Paraguay's Cerro Porteno and Venezuela's Monagas at the La Nueva Olla Stadium in Asuncion on February 27, 2025
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Man Utd transfer strategy change by Ineos
It is notable to see that Heaven and Obi aren’t one-offs because of their talent or Arsenal history.
Ineos have already followed them up by signing the likes of Diego Leon, Sekou Kone, Enzo Kana-Biyik, among others.
All these are players brought for low sums, and while some start out in the academy, they are more in a “floater” space where they are bought for and by the first team.
The Athletic report that it is down to a strategy change brought by Ineos, which is seeing United end the bifurcation in transfers for youth players aged 17-20.
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Earlier, United’s youth system would recruit youngsters separately for the youth teams, while the first team only signed players ready to contribute from day one.
Under the strategy change, players under the age of 17 are still identified by the academy system, but anyone above that age is identified as a collective by the club, with their pathway mapped in advance.
This is a positive change since it streamlines the process, as a youth team player also signs with the eventual aim of playing for the first team, so bifurcation was a needless exercise.
Man Utd executing ‘marginal gains’ philosophy perfectly
This strategy change continues a series of small changes implemented throughout the club, which don’t make for fancy headlines, but are monumental nonetheless.
To borrow from Sir Dave Brailsford’s playbook, these are the kinds of “marginal gains” that add up eventually to cause a huge positive change at the club.
Simply having the club identify young signings has led to early breakthroughs for Heaven and Obi, and Leon has promised the same.
It becomes a virtuous cycle where it then becomes easy to convince youngsters to stay at the club, or sign highly-rated talent from other clubs, like Harley Emsden-James and Charlie Hardy.
It is not as fancy as signing a £70m player or selling a player for that amount, but in the long run, the net positive from such a change will far exceed those sums.