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Manchester United have reportedly held talks with Ludonautics, the data company that has been behind Liverpool’s signings of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Andy Robertson.
Ever since it was announced that INEOS were successful in their bid to take over 25% of the football club, they have made it their mission to overhaul the footballing structure the Glazers created.
For years and years, United have lagged behind many of their rivals in recruitment, massively overpaying for players as in the case of Antony, or choosing obvious big names like Casemiro or Edinson Cavani than trying to discover cheaper and longer term players.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already brought in two new board members, Sir Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc. Omar Berrada has been whisked away from Manchester City to be the club’s new CEO, United are in the process of trying to prise Dan Ashworth away from Newcastle to be the Red Devils’ new sporting director.
Moreover, the club has their sights on Southampton’s Jason Wilcox as technical director and Dougie Freedman to play a major role in recruitment and identification of talent like he did at Crystal Palace, where he discovered gems like Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi.
The Daily Mail now reports that “Manchester United have held talks with the brains trust behind Liverpool’s successful transfer activity under Jurgen Klopp as they continue the process of improving their own recruitment”.
“Mail Sport has learned that United have had discussions with Ludonautics, the sports advisory and statistical analysis business run by Liverpool’s former Director of Research Dr Ian Graham.”
Graham and former Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards both work for the data company. The two spent a decade at Anfield and have been largely credited for the discovery of talents like Salah and Mane, who went on to contribute massively to the Reds success over the last five years.
“It is unclear whether United made a formal offer to engage Ludonautics, but they are not currently working for the club. Sources at Old Trafford told Mail Sport that United maintain an on-going dialogue with a number of data and analytics providers to ensure they are fully informed about the latest developments in a rapidly evolving sector”.
The company works with numerous teams across Europe but do not disclose their client list. Interestingly, both Ludonautics and Manchester United refused to comment on their potential collaboration when approached by the outlet.
It goes without saying that the Mancunian side’s recruitment needs all the help it can get. Furthermore, it stands to reason INEOS would pursue a data-driven approach when you consider the petro-chemical company’s use of data in their massive cycling success with their Grenadiers cycling team.
The Peoples Person has already relayed how important the efficient use of data and attention to detail has been in new board member, Sir Dave Brailsford’s, “marginal gains theory” and cycling success.
Moreover, when pitching their bid for the club last spring, recruitment was a key issue that was highlighted as a way to improve and modernise the football team. Reportedly, Sir Jim Ratcliffe highlighted the example of Casemiro as an expensive, short-term signing that was symbolic of the poor decisions the club has been making for years now.
Nobody can predict whether the next few months or years will be successful, but what seems increasingly clear is that INEOS will at least dramatically shake up the way things have been done at Old Trafford in the last decade or so.
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