The Red Devils have gone two seasons without silverware, and are currently inspiring little confidence, but they maintain that the club are ambitious
Manchester United remain committed to “competing and winning trophies at the highest level”, a club spokesman has said, while the club also intend to continue investing heavily in the squad.
The Red Devils have gone two years without major silverware and could only muster a sixth-place finish in the Premier League last season.
Little encouragement is being offered at present to a disgruntled fan base, with calls for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to be sacked emerging on the back of a 2-0 defeat at West Ham.
Many United fans fear the club are in danger of regressing even further, with too much emphasis placed on commercial agreements and money-making enterprises off the field.
Those behind the scenes at Old Trafford insist that is not the case, with on-pitch ambition as high as ever at United.
A spokesman said a recent fans’ forum: “Everyone at the club, from the owners down, is focused on competing for and winning trophies at the highest level. To do that we have invested heavily in the playing squad and will continue to do so.
“At the same time, the exciting pool of talent coming through from our youth and academy sections is a result of increased investment in this area over the last five years. It’s important to note that while our successful commercial operation helps drive that investment, the priority is the focus on achieving success on the pitch.
“Similarly, it is worth noting that we are not looking at or buying players based on their commercial appeal. We agree that recruitment is critical. We are committed to getting this right and there has been huge investment in this area to put our recruitment department into a position to be able to deliver the manager the players he wants. This process is significantly more effective than four or five years ago.”
The statement added in respect of the club’s search for a sporting director: “We are continually reviewing and looking at the potential to evolve our structure on the football side. Much of the speculation around this type of role focuses purely on recruitment.
“We’ve materially expanded our recruitment department in recent years and we believe this runs in an efficient and productive way. Many of the senior staff in these roles have been at the club for over 10 years.
“Recruitment recommendations and decisions are worked on by this department and the manager and his team, not senior management.
“We feel the players signed this summer demonstrate that this approach is the right one and any future appointment would complement this process. Regarding transfer budget, we have invested significantly in the squad and we will continue to do so.”
United are expected to spend again in January after making only three additions over the summer in the form of Harry Maguire, Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Big money was required to tie those deals up, but even more needs to be done if the 13-time Premier League champions are to get back to the level they occupied under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson.
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