Leny Yoro deal shows Sir Jim Ratcliffe has kept his promise on Manchester United transfers

Sir Jim Ratcliffe didn't shy away from the biggest issue that has held Manchester United back when he completed his £1.25bn deal to invest in the club in February.

"I think recruitment in the modern game is critical. Manchester United have clearly spent a lot of money but they haven't done as well as some other clubs," Ratcliffe said in his first sit-down interview as the club's minority owner.

"So when I was talking about being best-in-class in all aspects of football, recruitment is probably top of the list."

The 71-year-old has never really hid his feelings about the transfer operation at Old Trafford. A few years ago he called United the "dumb money" in football and a look at the rewards for the £1.6bn spend since 2013 would make that a fair assessment.

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In recent months he has touched again on recruitment. He told the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast that "the solution isn’t spending a lot of money on a couple of great players", and then said he wanted to sign the next Kylian Mbappe rather than the man himself.

The extent to which Ratcliffe has placed recruitment at the top of the list in areas to improve can be seen in the overhaul of roles at Old Trafford. Since February, Ineos have appointed Dan Ashworth as sporting director, Jason Wilcox as technical director and Christopher Vivell as interim director of recruitment. Three executives with vast experience in transfers and a reputation as shrewd operators.

They are making a good start as well. The deal for Joshua Zirkzee was wrapped up quickly after his involvement in Euro 2024 came to an end, with a