"He’s a full-back in the mould that we want: he’s physical, he’s quick, he’s strong, technical as well driving forward with it. So we thought it was the time for him now to get this experience and we believe he can kick on in his career."
Those were the words of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer in late 2019 and two outings in the Europa League would soon follow for Manchester United teenager Ethan Laird. At 18 years of age, the buzz was very much there around the latest young talent to break onto the Old Trafford scene.
Powerful, dynamic full-backs were proving essential in the Premier League and United appeared to have one with an excitingly high ceiling in Laird. A loan move to MK Dons, in January 2021, fuelled the hype as Laird excelled in League One and earned himself a move up to the Championship that summer - to work under promising young coach Russell Martin once again.
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The Swans spell was looking a savvy move on United and Laird's part, with the right-back stepping up to Championship level impressively. Swansea had kept eight clean sheets in the 20 games Laird played, while his attacking prowess kept shining through and he racked up three assists.
At that stage of a player's career, making the right move is so important and Laird was very much on an upwards trajectory. His landing base was in League One and six months later he was exposed to the second tier, which he handled just fine. But that January came an out-of-the-blue decision and one which ended up halting the player's game time - and surely progress too.
United recalled Laird and sent him to AFC Bournemouth, who were in the same league as Swansea at the time. And it's fair to say Martin was less than impressed at the time, with him saying: "We’re gutted. On a personal level, we get on really well. It’s not a decision that was driven by him. He’s not looked to go, it was brought to him by the club. He’ll be a loss to us on and off the pitch."
Laird went from playing week-in-week-out - on track for 40 plus appearances at Championship level, at the age of 20 - to playing six games in the second half of the season for the Cherries. The decision to send him to a completely new environment, under a new manager with new team-mates, did not pay off.
And in the end, the opportunity for Laird to put pressure on Aaron Wan-Bissaka never really materialised. He was sent back out on loan last summer to Queens Park Rangers and ended up enduring frustration after a bright start to life in London. There was real competition for Laird's signature, but the Rs won the race.
Laird would play under three different managers in one season, suffer a hamstring injury in February and get booed by the home supporters on one occasion. Come the end of the season his future at United was unclear, with the one-year option in his contract triggered - before a reported £750,000 bid from Birmingham was accepted.
And that, was that. An 11-year-stay at Manchester United, brought to an end after a slightly average 18 months. That is the pressure and expectation on those looking to break through at Old Trafford, making it absolutely vital to make the right off-field decisions and avoid showing any signs of stagnation.
Laird is joining a big, well-supported club in Birmingham and there is no disgrace in that whatsoever - with him feeling the need to leave to better his career. But following fellow defender Axel Tuanzebe bring released this summer and Zidane Iqbal's departure to FC Utrecht, the warning sign is clearly there for the wave of youngsters still on United's books.
Very few get the opportunity to play their football here and you have seize every single second of it. The pursuit of that first-team place has to be nothing short of relentless.
