Manchester United transfer news: Red Devils 'plan recruitment overhaul' after £320m failure in three-year splurge

The North West outfit have failed to win a single piece of major silverware since Sir Alex Ferguson’s goodbye

The Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward (right) with £59.7m signing Angel Di Maria (GETTY IMAGES)

Manchester United are in the process of overhauling their player recruitment structure amid boardroom frustration at spending £320m in the three trophy-less years since 2013, according to reports.

The North West outfit have failed to win a single piece of major silverware since Sir Alex Ferguson’s goodbye Premier League triumph just over three years ago despite spending enormous amounts of money in the transfer market.

Rivals Manchester City have deployed the talents of former Barcelona pair Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano, who helped lure Pep Guardiola to the club, but the approach appears more erratic at Old Trafford. The Sun report this morning that United’s owners, the Glazer family, are looking to set up a system similar to the one used across town at the Etihad.

Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman, was quizzed by investors last week on United’s failure to sign players cheaply like Leicester City, the Premier League leaders, have done so effectively in recent years. “Leicester is a fantastic reference point for everybody this year,” Woodward told Nomura analyst Matthew Walker.

“Some players are bought by other clubs with an eye to them developing into something special in a few years’ time. Whereas there’s a bit more pressure on some of the other clubs to bring in players who are going to be hitting the ground running and top players verging on world class almost immediately.

“So there is a slightly different market in which people are buying.”

Louis van Gaal, the United manager, has overseen a series of unsuccessful transfers since his arrival a year-and-a-half ago. Angel di Maria joined the Red Devils in his first summer in Manchester for £59.7m but was swiftly sold on to Paris Sant-Germain for a cheaper fee.

Despite the outlandish investment in the playing squad, the club remain six points adrift of the top four and have been knocked out of the Champions League and Capital One Cup.