Manchester United are a sleeping giant in need of an analeptic. They need systematic structural changes to stop the constant hiring and firing cycle and misallocation of precious funds.

They also need a world class replacement for Old Trafford, which was once the best stadium in the country yet now has the structural integrity of Luke Shaw’s hamstrings. Most alarmingly, they need new players to replace the largely insipid current squad.

Moves are being made on all fronts. Sir David Brailsford has stepped back from his day-to-day role at the club, establishing a clear hierarchy at the top of Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox. Bold, neo futuristic designs have been released for a new 100,000 seater stadium, with completion intended for the 2030/31 season. And, for the first time since 2019-20, United have moved quickly in the market by signing players in June, bringing in the wizardly Matheus Cunha from Wolves and Harley Emsden-James from Southampton.

Someone who not everyone knows, though, is 16-year-old Harley Emsden-James. You could be forgiven for not having heard of the talented young centre back. He was born in 2009 – after the last time Manchester United won the Champions League. Bournemouth, who have sold Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid for £50m and are on the verge of selling Milos Kerkez to Liverpool, were celebrating promotion from League Two.

Still doing his GCSEs (he had maths on the same day as signing for United), he became old enough to sign a pro contract in March. He chose not to sign on with the Saints, leading the big sharks hunting. United won the hunt, despite interest from Arsenal, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.

Manchester United have a clear footballing structure, headed by Omar Berrada (pictured) and Jason Wilcox

They are starting to invest and trust in youth, with forward Chido Obi recently impressing

Ex-Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen once argued that ‘you can’t win anything with kids’

This isn’t the first time that United have poached talent from other Premier League academies in recent years, nor the first time Southampton have had talent poached. Last season, the Saints lost Harrison Miles to Manchester City, while Kamari Doyle and Jimmy-Jay Morgan departed a year earlier to Brighton and Chelsea respectively.

Other clubs are capitalising on young British talent too. 15-year-old Rio Ngumoha swapped the Chelsea blue for Liverpool red last summer. Omari Hutchinson moved from north to west London when he left Arsenal for Chelsea in 2023. United doubly-nicked highly-rated superstars Ayden Heaven and Chido Obi from the Gunners in January.

Major transfers between Premier League rivals are rare but if you harvest your rivals’ top academy players before they’ve entirely ripened, you’ll reap the fruits of your labour.

‘You’ll never win anything with kids,’ Alan Hansen famously uttered on Match of the Day in 1995. He was wrong – Manchester United, led by the Class of 92, stormed to the league title that season. But, in fairness, not every academy batch will produce Ryan Giggs, Gary and Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, David Beckham, and Paul Scholes. 99 times out of 100, Hansen would’ve been right. So to rephrase – you’ll very infrequently win with kids. You might win something if you invest in them and sell them.

Manchester City have treated academy players like the stock market in recent years. They buy low, and sell high. Occasionally, some players maintain a position in the portfolio, but they’re usually sold off for a profit and replaced by a more glitzy European stock.

City have generated £260.7million through player departures over the past two seasons, of which a significant proportion has come through academy sales. Cole Palmer left for Chelsea for £45m. Taylor Harwood-Bellis went to Southampton for £20m. James Trafford to Burnley brought another £20m. With all the financial benefits those sales specifically bring in the era of profit and sustainability rules (PSR), it is a wise strategy to sell academy graduates that represent ‘pure profit’ in the overcomplicated and pernickety football accounting world.

United, by pitiful comparison, have generated just £57.8m from sales in the same timeframe. United noted earlier this year that the club is at risk of breaching PSR if their repeated financial losses linger. The good news for United fans is that the academy’s direction has been shrewd and sensible in the last few years and has left them in a healthy position.

Brexit restrictions prohibit British clubs from signing European players under the age of 18, reducing the pool of players available by 92 per cent. It’s not that there were 60,000 players that would’ve been wanted by top Premier League clubs, but with now just 5,000 available players in the pool, fewer options means more competition and higher costs involved in signing them.

Teams are investing in their academies because potential player sales down the line represent pure profit

Players are moving between academies so clubs can either fast-track them to the first team or sell them on

Ayden Heaven, signed for £1.5million in January, is another United youngster rated highly

Ruben Amorim will trust in his youth as United continue their rebuild on the back of another disastrous campaign

All good football rules are seemingly there to be broken, however, and Manchester City and Chelsea have found cheeky ways around this. The City Football Group and BlueCo own a smorgasbord of European clubs. Most notably, City own Girona in LaLiga and BlueCo own Strasbourg in Ligue 1. They establish ‘partnerships’ with these clubs to park players there until they’ve turned 18, and then conveniently sign them on the cheap once they decide it’s time to come to England. Savinho has enjoyed three spells at clubs owned by the City Group. A crazy coincidence.

United, not having this luxury, moved quickly to sign Alejandro Garnacho, Alvaro Fernandez, and Willy Kambwala before the Brexit deadline hit. They’ve been vindicated. Kambwala and Fernandez were both sold off for substantial profit with sell-on clauses included.

Garnacho, the rambunctious, Ronaldo-inspired winger, has proved to be more than just a quick sell. He’s arguably been United’s most exciting player to watch over the last two seasons. Frustrating at times, but direct, spontaneous and always playing with an eye for goal. Relations have soured between the 20-year-old and manager Ruben Amorim, so a sale is inevitable. Either way, three first-team seasons and likely £45m in profit is an example of the benefits of investing in youth.

A focus on having the best academy in the country is part and parcel of Manchester United’s new strategy. If players are exceptional, there is a direct route to the first team. If they are good, they can be sold for an almost entirely profitable sum. And if they end up in the crevices of the English football system, it does not matter as there was no opportunity cost regardless.

Ayden Heaven, signed for £1.5m in January, impressed so much in the absence of Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs De Ligt that he started United’s most important European game in years at home to Sociedad. Obi has also looked bright, scoring twice on United’s post-season tour in Hong Kong. Harry Amass, scooped up from Watford in 2023, broke into the first team this year. Toby Collyer, a pick-up from Brighton, all but won United the game against Fulham in January with a crucial late goal line clearance.

They won’t all be world beaters, but with the right nurturing in the academy set-up, they can be important sellable assets. They are learning that from their noisy neighbours. Amorim will trust in the youth. For after all, the kids are alright.