Former Man United star Ashley Young reveals ex-players have questioned the club’s signings in WhatsApp group… after the Red Devils slumped to their worst Premier League finish despite spending £170m last summer
- Young has revealed he is part of a WhatsApp group of ex-Man United players
- He claimed the club’s recruitment was questioned by the former stars
- Has Chelsea offered Manchester United a way out of Erik ten Hag’s darkness through the departure of Mauricio Pochettino? – Listen to the It all starts! Podcast
Ashley Young has revealed he is part of a WhatsApp group full of ex-Manchester United players – and the club’s recruitment is a hot topic of conversation in the chat.
Young spent nine years at Old Trafford between 2011 and 2020, winning one league title in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in 2013.
The Red Devils have failed to win the league again in the 11 years since, despite spending more than £1 billion during this period, including £170 million last summer on the likes of Rasmus Hojlund, Mason Mount and Andre Onana. This heavy spending did not translate into results on the pitch, as United finished in eighth place, their worst ever Premier League finish.
Young has now opened a WhatsApp group that he and some of his former United teammates are involved in, detailing how they have expressed their concerns about the team’s signings in recent years.
“Nowadays, with players who have retired, we have a WhatsApp group,” he said talkSPORT.
Ashley Young has revealed that ex-Man United players have raised concerns over the club’s signings
United spent £170m last summer, signing the likes of Rasmus Hojlund (right) and Andre Onana (centre), while they also spent £85.5m on Antony (left) in 2022.
Wayne Rooney (left) and Rio Ferdinand (right) are part of the WhatsApp group questioning United’s recruitment
‘We have ex-United players there. Sometimes we do talk about it [transfers]. But when you are in the dressing room, you don’t think: “Why did we sign this player?”
‘You try to integrate them into the team. I had some fantastic times there and you want the best out of every player that walks through that door.”
Young then revealed the name of the group and exactly which former players are in it.
‘It’s called Band of Brothers. There are quite a few ex-players,” he added.
‘Rio [Ferdinand]Fletch [Darren Fletcher]John O’Shea, Wazza [Rooney]Wes Brown, Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverly, Ando [Anderson]Nani, Berba [Dimitar Berbatov]Partridge [Evra]the twins, Rafael and Fabio, Quinton Fortune, Anders Lindegaard.’
When asked if there was anyone with particularly strong opinions, Young replied, “Everyone. Honestly, that group goes down every day. It’s like we’re still training, the banter still goes on. Actually, someone gets it every day.’
United’s recruitment strategy has raised eyebrows over the years, with the club failing to close the gap with Manchester City and Arsenal.
However, this could change this summer under new co-owners INEOS as Sir Jim Ratcliffe has quickly taken action by appointing Omar Berrada as the club’s new CEO and Jason Wilcox as technical director.
United are also keen to add Dan Ashworth as their new sporting director, although they have not yet agreed a compensation package with Newcastle, and Mail Sport exclusively revealed earlier this week that he accidentally sent an email to a Newcastle account in which he revealed a conversation he had had. had with Berrada before United informed the Magpies of their interest in Ashworth.
United’s transfer strategy could change this summer under new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe
This could lead to a Premier League ‘wiretapping’ investigation, but Ashworth will argue at an arbitration hearing later this month that he was sacked by Newcastle in a bid to push through his move to Old Trafford.
United’s season is not over yet. The team will be hoping to upset the odds and beat City in the FA Cup final on Saturday before the focus turns to the summer transfer window.
