You've probably read the headline to this article and thought "Well that's never going to happen," Kylian Mbappe is probably going to end up at Real Madrid in the end just delayed by a few years after extending his contract at Paris Saint-Germain. But let's put it this way, the 23-year-old French forward is the best young player in the world right now and if Manchester United want to be successful, the club will need to be able to attract these sorts of players to Old Trafford.
Work has already started to that end; United's recruitment is seemingly being overhauled with Chief Scout Jim Lawlor and Global Head of Scouting Marcel Bout leaving the club. Erik ten Hag has also been appointed as the club's next permanent manager and he will be able to hopefully get create a project that can win silverware but also attract top talent.
So with that in mind let's look at three ways that United can make players like Mbappe interested in joining them in the future.
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Making the team 'Europe-proof'
In his leaving interview with Ajax's in-house media, Ten Hag said: “I would’ve liked to be active [in the Champions League] myself, but sadly that’s not the case. That’s a must. The goal is to make Manchester United Europe-proof again, like we did with Ajax, reaching the Champions League with Manchester United is a prerequisite."
The best players want to play in the best competitions and at United that is something they currently can not do. The club's game against Crystal Palace on Sunday may act as a decider for whether they end up in the Europa League or UEFA Conference League and neither will be that attractive to potential signings so under Ten Hag they need to make sure that they consistently playing in Europe as a starting step.
Win some silverware
Literally, any piece of silverware, be it a League Cup or a Europa League/Conference League. To be able to point to a trophy as a clear measure of the team's progress is a very handy negotiating tool when trying to convince a player to join any club.
The long term goal is to challenge for the Premier League and the Champions League under Ten Hag, but that will take time, especially with the likes of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool and Manchester City to go up against. But showing that the team is capable of winning things is something that this United side will hopefully be able to do over the next two to three years.
Get rid of the 'career graveyard' label
Over the past decade, United has been named as the club where careers go to die given that no transfer has truly been a success since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson. Furthermore, young players who have come to Old Trafford have seen their development completely stall, with Anthony Martial being the most obvious example.
Europe's best talent is unlikely to come to United if they don't think they are going to win anything, but there are even less likely to arrive at Old Trafford if they think that a spell here will be detrimental to their whole career. Mbappe may be unlikely to come to Old Trafford but the bracket of players just under him are still there for the taking if United are able to solve these major issues.
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