Last summer, Erik ten Hag had something of a clearout with some older players in the academy, now he’s been told one was a bad call.
Manchester United had a huge group of players getting too old for academy football last summer and with little intention to play them in the senior team, Erik ten Hag decided to let them go.
Zidane Iqbal, Charlie Savage and Teden Mengi were some of the names in that situation along with Ethan Laird.
But obviously, this was a risk as some could inevitably go on to achieve great things in football.
Mengi has been impressing for Luton this season and looks set to be a Premier League player in his career, but now former player Demetri Mitchell has named another who Ten Hag will be regretting letting go.
Demetri Mitchell says Ethan Laird should still be at Manchester United
Laird was sold to Birmingham City last summer for a fee of just £750k with a decent sell-on clause included in the deal.
This a minuscule fee considering how highly rated Laird has been at times in his young career. Still just 22, Laird has plenty of time to reach his previously thought high potential.
Now, as he’s forced himself into the Birmingham City team, he’s been impressing and has now made 15 Championship appearances this season boasting an average match rating of 7.11 on FotMob.
This is quite a performance level considering Birmingham are 19th and locked in a relegation battle. His last game against Hull City on Tuesday night saw him score a 7.5 rating.
Upon watching his display, former United academy graduate Mitchell was raving about Laird. He tweeted: “Ethan Laird should be playing for United I can’t lie if he stays free from injuries his ceiling is high.”
He continued to explain Laird has it all that’s required by a full back, “pace, technique, strong, [can] dribble and can defend, not much more you need.”
The sell-on clause could prove a masterstroke in Laird deal
Having a significant sell-on clause in the sale of Laird could be a brilliant move from United should Birmingham City begin to improve and rise up the Championship with the likes of Tom Brady now an owner.
This could see United either in a good position to re-sign Laird if he does improve to that level, or even to gain a decent figure from a future sale.
The only risk is that he departs Birmingham for a step sideways or down should the Blues not survive this season.
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