Man United academy trio set to train with Sir Jim Ratcliffe-owned club after agreement reached

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Manchester United is not the only club on Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ownership portfolio.

The British billionaire also owns a stake in French club Nice and Swiss side FC Lausanne-Sport. Beyond football, he also has significant investments in cycling and Formula One.

But Manchester United are now the flagship of Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s footballing empire after his minority takeover deal was completed in December.

Multi-club models have become increasingly popular in modern football, with rivals Manchester City heading the City Football Group and Jurgen Klopp recently joining the Red Bull Group.

United are now part of the Ineos umbrella, and the Red Devils are now utilising their sister clubs to benefit player progression.

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Man United reach training agreement for academy trio

According to Manchester Evening News, Manchester United have struck an agreement with FC Lausanne-Sport – who are owned by Ratcliffe – to allow three players to train with the Swiss club.

Academy trio Habeeb Ogunneye, Jack Kingdon and Ethan Williams have all jetted out to Switzerland to train with Lausanne’s first team.

The three 18-year-olds will all be hoping to break through to Erik ten Hag‘s first team, and the opportunity to train with Lausanne will give them valuable experience with senior players.

The report adds that an academy trip to Ratcliffe-owned Nice which was arranged earlier this year was “considered a huge success” by the club.

United are now hoping to repeat that success with Lausanne and it seems these academy trips are something fans can expect to see more regularly moving forward.

Ineos focused on youth progression at Man United

There has been a clear shift in strategy under Ineos to try and help younger players at the club develop and thrive.

United’s new transfer strategy was inspired by a £115m deal for Moises Caicedo. Ineos are desperate to not miss out on any world-class youngsters like United did with the Ecuadorian midfielder.

Ineos have already shown over the summer that their focus is on academy progression after signing Arsenal starlet Chido Obi-Martin and 18-year-old midfielder Sekou Kone – both of whom could make their first-team debut this season.

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This agreement with Lausanne is Ineos’ latest step to developing United’s academy stars, and in Ten Hag they have a manager who has a great record with young players.

There can be plenty said about Ten Hag’s time as United manager, but one area that cannot be questioned is his faith in youth after getting the best out of talents such as Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.