Why do Man Utd lose so many of their best young players?

In recent years Manchester United have lost both Paul Pogba and Ravel Morrison to rival clubs; but why are the Red Devils unable to keep hold of their best talent?

Last week 18-year-old Adnan Januzaj burst onto the scene in quite remarkable fashion. With Man Utd 1-0 down away at Sunderland with 30 minutes to go, it was looking like David Moyes' side were heading for defeat. Then with two moments of sheer brilliance, Adnan Januzaj bagged a brace to wrap up the three points for United. 


Prior to the game, the talk of Januzaj had been about how his agent could be a bad influence on the youngster. The player was reportedly demanding a huge amount of money to stay at the club. Man United were already in talks with Januzaj's representatives over a new contract, but the Belgian youngster had yet to agree terms on a deal. In fact, United were some way off of an agreement. After the game, Januzaj had been linked with four national team sides and an apparent flurry of interest in the youngster's future. Manchester United had already missed out on an opportunity to sign up the player on a long term deal relatively cheaply, but had stalled on the contract offer and now United could face losing one of their best young prospects.


Paul Pogba is a great example of another player who left United and is now fast becoming one of Europe's best young prospects. The Juventus man helped the Old Lady to the Serie A title controlling the centre of midfield with some excellent displays last season. United fans are surely reeling the loss of Pogba today, who is now a regular in France's national side and is repeatedly linked with a move to PSG. How different that could have been had Man Utd listened to the Frenchman's salary demands and United perhaps would not have needed to spend a fortune on Marouane Fellaini this summer.


How about Ravel Morrison? Sure, his career development has gone a little more slowly than that of Pogba, but he is starting to show the flashes of brilliance that persuaded West Ham to pursue the midfielder's signature for over a year. Last week, the player put in a man of the match performance to help the Hammers to an historic 3-0 win over Tottenham at White Hart Lane. How different that would have been had Manchester United had offered the youngster more money to stay at Old Trafford.


Back to Januzaj: United simply cannot afford to lose another of Europe's brightest talents, and it appears that the 18-year-old will be offered a massive deal to stay at the club. Januzaj is very close to agreeing a deal.


Manchester United appear to have one of the tightest youth salary structures in England, particularly in comparison to that of Tottenham and Arsenal who quickly push through their young players onto bumper contracts after they progress into the reserves and eventually the first team. 


One reason for this appears to be Sir Alex Ferguson's refusal to succumb to the lofty demands of young players. In the case of Pogba, the Frenchman simply ran his contract down and then completed a free transfer to Juventus. It is understood that Pogba was demanding around £50,000 per week to stay at Old Trafford then. That appears to be just a drop in the ocean compared to what he would be worth right now.


One thing is for certain, if Manchester United are to keep their best young talent then they may just have to start paying them more money and listening to their agents. The competition is ready to spend big and United will fall behind.