United poised for more heavy spending after record revenue

Manchester United are ready for more investment in the next transfer window after posting record revenue figures, executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has said.

A return to Champions League football this season and strong commercial investment saw the club enjoy £18.6million in quarterly profits and a record £133.8m in revenue in financial results released on Thursday.

Louis van Gaal opted not to sign any new players during the most recent transfer period but Woodward has pointed to some significant potential spending after the end of the campaign as they look to sustain a Premier League title challenge and stay in the Champions League.

“Our financial performance from the second quarter was very strong,” he told the media. “This continued strength will enable us to compete at the highest level.

“I think this is the biggest window in preparation for the next season, I do think there’ll be more activity in the summer.”

Woodward conceded United are under pressure to recruit only an elite standard of player but pointed to surprise title challengers Leicester City as proof of the value of sound recruitment.

“Leicester is a fantastic point for everyone this year,” he said. “The pressure is on bigger clubs to bring in players who will hit the ground running and be world-class almost immediately

“The philosophy we have is to target quality of players.”

Woodward also revealed that plans concerning the United academy system would be outlined in the coming days following a review of the set-up, with rivals Manchester City having invested heavily in an overhaul of their own youth system over recent years.

“We took the departure of [former academy chief] Brian McClair last summer as the chance to do a root and branch review of the academy,” he said. “That is now complete and changes are under way, and announcements will follow in the coming days.

“I think in terms of the future, our key competitive advantages are still very strong, and the two I would call out are an unmatched record of player development, compared to any other team, particularly in England, and secondly the runway of first-team opportunities we deliver to those players coming through, again very different to some of our competitors.”