Five EFL transfers Manchester United could make as Sir Jim Ratcliffe eyes 'next Kylian Mbappe'

Of the many soundbites that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has offered up publicly since his stake in Manchester United was confirmed earlier this year, claims of seeking to acquire the next Kylian Mbappe are certainly up there with the most interesting.

Having spent recklessly and largely aimlessly across the past decade without much success, the Red Devils are stepping into a brave new world. Away from even the well-documented marginal gains, United are looking to transform their football operations and the market tactics will certainly be part of that.

A far cry from the long-term attempts by the Glazer family and their structure to sign readymade players, throwing them into a team with a big-name head coach, Ratcliffe promises to be different.

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"What I would rather do is find the next Mbappe, rather than spend a fortune just trying to buy success," he told the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast last month. "It's not that clever, is it, buying Mbappe, in a way?

"Anybody could figure that one out. But what's much more challenging is to to find the next Mbappe, the next [Jude] Bellingham or the next Roy Keane."

With reports suggesting that United are now looking to land Port Vale starlet Baylee Dipepa,Manchester Evening News has taken a look at some of the other prospects that the club could turn to in order to unearth gems for the future. Given that players such as Bellingham, Jarrod Bowen, Ollie Watkins, Jamie Vardy, Harry Maguire, Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, and Jack Grealish have all come from EFL backgrounds, it's certainly a goldmine to be