Under the footballing management of Ineos, there has been a complete change for Manchester United in the decision-making.
Prior to Sir Jim Ratcliffe becoming a part-owner of the club, transfer windows were often expensive and unsuccessful, which was something that Ineos wanted to change.
It was last month that Ratcliffe claimed Ed Woodward was clueless about football. With the former banker being the CEO and effectively also the director of football at the club for years after Sir Alex Ferguson left, it is no shock that Manchester United had such a steep downward trajectory.
However, Ineos have axed most of the former decision makers, bringing in the crack-team of Christopher Vivell as the club’s director of recruitment and Jason Wilcox as the technical director.
Both figures are influential at the club and have a knack for recruiting young talents, which is a transfer strategy that Ineos have been keen to implement at the club opposed to shilling out millions for players such as Casemiro.
We have already seen this in action, with United’s £1m deal to sign Sekou Kone having Vivell’s fingerprints all over it. Now, the German has a permanent contract and is gearing up to repeat the coup this summer.
Manchester United scouting at the U17 AFCON
The decision to bring Vivell in paid off immediately with Kone, as the Malian teenager has looked like a real prospect for the club thus far in his career. Meanwhile, the summer arrival of Diego Leon also seems like a deal Vivell would have a hand in.
Vivell is highly regarded by United, with the permanent deal fending off interest from Arsenal. Many are now excited to see the business Vivell can do for the Red Devils in the upcoming transfer window, and now some of United’s scouting assignments have been revealed.
According to Scouts in Attendance, there was a United scout at the African Cup of Nations clash between Morocco and Zambia on Thursday night.
It is pointed out that Vivell holds strong contacts in Zambian football, having brought Patson Daka and Enock Mwepu to RB Salzburg.
So with United having already shown commitment to signing young players from the African continent, perhaps there were some talents on show who could soon be making their way to Carrington.
Manchester United could have been watching Abel Salim Nyirongo
Due to his immediate success, Kone is the template for United to follow. The 19-year-old has been in Ruben Amorim’s squad on multiple occasions and, therefore, must be impressive.
One possible subject of the scouting could be 16-year-old Zambian forward Abel Salim Nyirongo, who was the man of the match for his country in their U17 AFCON clash with Tanzania last weekend with a goal.
Nyirongo is the youngster goalscorer in the history of the MTN Super League, when he scored for Atletico Lusaka back in December to announce the arrival of a new generation.
Nyirongo is the face of this generation, and it would make sense if United were showing an interest, given that he certainly appears to be one of the biggest talents in the competition.
There were plenty of talented youngsters on either side in the Morocco and Zambia clash, so it will be interesting to keep an eye out to see if it develops.
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