Football

Man Utd academy chief insists club won't flout rules in search for more young stars


Manchester United will not break the rules in order to attract the very best young players, according to their academy chief.

While some clubs are willing to flout existing rules and regulations regarding youth players, United are adamant they will do it all by the book.

Manchester City and Chelsea have both been punished by UEFA for breaches of their regulations regarding the recruitment of minors.

But as United prepare to mark their 4,000th first-team game in a row with a youth team graduate in the matchday squad, academy chief Nick Cox said the Reds will not employ dirty tricks to get young talent ahead of their rivals.

“The values we’re trying to instil in our young players are hard work, dedication, being humble, aspiring to greatness,” said Cox.

United’s academy chief Nick Cox

“Are we getting the players we want? Yes. Are there some players who might get their heads turned by more material offerings, such as finances, sexy sales pitches or houses?

“We may well lose some players to those kind of material offerings, but actually that’s the first stage of our recruitment process. We don’t want those kids.

“If you’re first conversation with us is about size of contract or ‘what’s my signing-on fee?’, we’d rather have the kids who are saying ‘I’m intrinsically motivated to be somewhere that is going to help me reach my full potential’.

“We can’t promise every kid is going to play at Old Trafford, but what we can promise is that we’ll help kids reach their full potential.

Rashford and Lingard are two of United’s current academy graduates

“If that’s our first-team, marvellous, but the other side of this statistic is we’ve got more kids playing across the football leagues than any other club, which we’re incredibly proud of.”

Cox, who succeeded Nicky Butt as academy head in the summer when the former United midfielder took up a new role as head of first-team development, said the 4,000 game landmark is a remarkable feat.

“It’s unrivalled, amazing and sums up this club,” said Cox.

“It’s an unbelievable landmark that just reminds people what this club is all about.

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“Our fans genuinely want to see local, home-grown players play in our first-team.

“I think when it’s local boys who are on the pitch, that connection becomes even greater and more powerful.

“What we’re doing here is producing the equivalent of gold-medallists and spacemen who are landing on the moon.

“To produce young players who are ready to go and play at Old Trafford is the pinnacle.”





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