Man Utd 'hiring crack team of 8 data specialists' to identify transfer bargains

Manchester United are set to hire a team of eight data specialists in a bid to help identify talent.

As reported by The Athletic, United are aiming to improve their recruitment process ahead of the summer transfer window.

United were desperate to sign a striker in January and ended up bringing in Odion Ighalo on loan from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua in a late move but want a more organised approach to transfers.

The report indicates that the new department at United, which will be led by a head of analytics, will make use of data to find potential transfer targets and will also contribute to the club's academy and medical teams.

So far United haven't frequently used data when identifying players, so this will be a major step forwards in terms of modernising their approach to transfers.

United have spent heavily on high-profile players in recent years, and while they are still able to attract signing of the quality of Bruno Fernandes, other deals haven't worked out well.

For instance, they spent £90million on Romelu Lukaku in 2017 only for the striker to leave two years later.

Alexis Sanchez arrived at United as part of a swap deal involving Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but, despite the lack of transfer fee the winger's £500,000-a-week wages have been a significant waste of money.

In 2015 Memphis Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin cost £25million each but both failed to live up to expectations.

Other clubs such as Liverpool have also spent heavily on players such as Virgil van Dijk, who cost £75million, but they have also made astute purchases, such as bringing in Andy Robertson from Hull for just £8million.