Arsene Wenger has accused Manchester United of abandoning their traditional youth development policy in favour of using their financial firepower. He contrasted their approach to that of Arsenal, which he claims remains geared to producing players, albeit many of them recruited as teenagers from all over the world.
Wenger admits that United do not have the calibre of players like Ryan Giggs and David Beckham inside the club because youth talent is spread more through 20 clubs than it was a couple of decades ago.
Arsene Wenger has accused Manchester United of abandoning their traditional youth development policy in favour of using their financial firepower. He contrasted their approach to that of Arsenal, which he claims remains geared to producing players, albeit many of them recruited as teenagers from all over the world.
Wenger admits that United do not have the calibre of players like Ryan Giggs and David Beckham inside the club because youth talent is spread more through 20 clubs than it was a couple of decades ago.
United spent £150m on recruitment last summer. This summer they have spent £74m on new recruits and are exploring the possibility of signing Thomas Muller from Bayern Munich in a deal that could cost as much as £60m.