Man Utd set to ditch Ratcliffe project due to lack of progress under Amorim

Manchester United chiefs may have to ditch their ambitious Project 150 dream after realising that it’s going to take Ruben Amorim years to build a team capable of challenging for the Premier League.

Chief executive Omar Berrada announced on his arrival at the club last summer that co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe had set his sights on taking the title back to Old Trafford by 2028 to celebrate United’s 150th anniversary.

This bold vision was intended to signal a return to the glory days of the Sir Alex Ferguson era, but recent performances have cast significant doubt on its feasibility.

United expected results to be better than those Amorim has delivered - just 10 wins in 25 games. The Portuguese coach, who replaced Erik ten Hag in November, has struggled to implement his preferred 3-4-3 system, with the team languishing in 14th place in the Premier League.

But with Ratcliffe’s INEOS Group currently implementing an overhaul of how the Reds go about their business from the academy level to the first-team squad, after striking an ownership pact with the Glazer family just over a year ago, there’s an awareness that the former Sporting Lisbon coach must be given time if he can’t be bankrolled in the transfer market.

The club’s financial constraints, exacerbated by Financial Fair Play regulations, have limited their ability to make significant signings, forcing a reliance on youth development and tactical evolution.

INEOS are fully aware that if they make another knee-jerk managerial change they risk losing the dwindling goodwill of disillusioned fans, who have endured years of underachievement since Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.

It cost them £10.4 million to sack Ten Hag and another £11 million in compensation to appoint Amorim. Sir Jim Ratcliffe has overseen plenty of cost-cutting measures, including staff redundancies and a restructuring of the football operations, to ensure long-term sustainability, but these moves have not yet translated into on-field success, adding pressure to the Amorim project.

Promising youngsters like Harry Amass, Jack Fletcher, Sekou Kone, Jack Moorhouse, Tyler Fredricson, Elyh Harrison and Godwill Kukonki are all pushing for places in Amorim’s squad for the clash with Arsenal at Old Trafford after coming through an academy that has produced a team good enough to reach the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup.

But even the fabled Class of 92 succeeded because they graduated into a squad already packed with seasoned winners. The current United squad, plagued by injuries and inconsistent form, lacks the leadership and experience needed to mentor these emerging talents, raising questions about whether youth alone can bridge the gap to the Premier League’s elite.