One of the big stories that played out on deadline day was the untimely end of Ravel Morrison’s Man United career and his £650k move to West Ham. There were signs throughout January that Sir Alex Ferguson had grown impatient with the 18-year-old and that he was ready to sell. In the end it was Sam Allardyce’s Hammers that took a gamble on the troubled teen and inherited one of the finest young players United have had at the club for the last decade.
Whilst I understand why Sir Alex opted to sell Morrison and don’t necessarily condemn the move, I do think there’s a larger picture that needs to be examined here. In years previous United have been renowned for their youth development system and a number of good players have come through and made a name for themselves in the Premier League and abroad. But are they now at risk of selling out their next generation?
I’m talking about players like Ravel Morrison, Paul Pogba and Ezekiel Fryers – none of whom seem to have any real long-term future with the club. Morrison has already moved on and both Pogba and Fryers have been linked to other clubs. Fryers in particular seems to be entangled in a complex contract negotiation and it’s unclear as to where his allegiances and his future lies.
At only 19-years-old the highly versatile defender has bags of potential and plenty of talent. United are reported to have offered him new terms that he is yet to accept. There’s a good chance he’s holding out for an improved deal or looking to see if any clubs start pursuing him this Summer.
Whilst he’ll be a free-agent at the end of the season, if anybody does pick him up on a ‘free’ they’ll be forced to pay Manchester United compensation (as is always the case with players under the age of 23). Still there’ll be plenty of clubs who intend acquiring a bright young spark like Fryers, and ClubCall claim that Spurs are already an interested party.
This along with Pogba’s unwillingness to commit to Manchester United has me concerned. Whilst youngsters like Smalling, Cleverley and Jones are making a name for themselves in the Premier League, Manchester United’s next generation seems to be disbanding. Can Sir Alex Ferguson offer them the right incentives to keep them at the club or will United be left to regret their absence?
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This is a very lazy piece of writing…Fryers tweeted last week that he hasn’t turned down a contract and this whole thing is a rehash of some equally lazy and inaccurate reporting from about two weeks ago….don’t you do any research before you publish such drivel?
Fryers has already denied it on his official twitter account, a nothing story, sorry.