Manchester United have learnt lessons from their scouting strategy in France with Leny Yoro deal

It was a little over six years ago that Manchester United posted an advert for a first team scout in France.

The job specification read: "To act as a representative of the club in France, responsible for accurately capturing and relying on a time basis in-depth contextual knowledge of the players who are of the required standard for Manchester United’s First Team and Academy."

France were on the brink of a second World Cup win, with Paul Pogba a scorer in the final. His club-mate Anthony Martial was not in the squad.

That was the summer the player-power era started at United. Ed Woodward and Joel Glazer pandered to Martial despite his wish to leave and flocked at the feet of Pogba.

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Those at Carrington say Pogba returned empowered after his heroics in Russia. Jose Mourinho felt Pogba lorded it like a king. United backed Pogba, sacked Mourinho and did not win anything again until the season after Pogba was released for a second time.

Fast-forward six years and the two first team French recruits at United have been a 28-year-old and an 18-year-old. Leny Yoro was in an identical position to a teenage Raphael Varane 13 years ago: making waves close to the Channel at a club in northern France and wanted by United and Real Madrid.

United's lack of Gallic buys has not been for a lack of trying. Ryan Giggs watched a 17-year-old Kylian Mbappe and optimistically claimed a £5million deal was doable. The former head of youth recruitment Derek Langley endorsed a move for Dayot Upamecano and Randal Kolo Muani was shortlisted last year. United sounded out Eduardo Camavinga in 2021 but he preferred a move