Manchester United sale sends message to next wave of Old Trafford youngsters

"He’s a full-back in the mould that we want: he’s physical, he’s quick, he’s strong, technical as well driving forward with it. So we thought it was the time for him now to get this experience and we believe he can kick on in his career."

Those were the words of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer in late 2019 and two outings in the Europa League would soon follow for Manchester United teenager Ethan Laird. At 18 years of age, the buzz was very much there around the latest young talent to break onto the Old Trafford scene.

Powerful, dynamic full-backs were proving essential in the Premier League and United appeared to have one with an excitingly high ceiling in Laird. A loan move to MK Dons, in January 2021, fuelled the hype as Laird excelled in League One and earned himself a move up to the Championship that summer - to work under promising young coach Russell Martin once again.

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The Swans spell was looking a savvy move on United and Laird's part, with the right-back stepping up to Championship level impressively. Swansea had kept eight clean sheets in the 20 games Laird played, while his attacking prowess kept shining through and he racked up three assists.

At that stage of a player's career, making the right move is so important and Laird was very much on an upwards trajectory. His landing base was in League One and six months later he was exposed to the second tier, which he handled just fine. But that January came an out-of-the-blue decision and one which ended up halting the player's game time - and surely progress too.

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