Former Manchester United academy chief Nicky Butt admits they fell behind earlier this century in terms of youth recruitment.
Butt spent nine years nurturing the likes of Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood before stepping down for "a new challenge" and has now opened up on how United's academy system dropped off the pace.
"We did fall behind, if we're honest. Ed (Woodward), the board and the owners did realise it and that it needed an influx of money to keep up with the other teams and we got that," he told The Athletic.
"United bought some of the top young players in Europe, like Hannibal (Mejbri). We bought some very good full-backs from Spain. You could see other clubs saying, 'Man United are back on it'.
"We got stuck into thinking that every young player wanted to come to Man United and that we didn't need to work. (But) We did. There are other big clubs close to us who could also challenge for players. It got noticed and it changed.
"We have to stay on the front foot and we have to keep buying the best players. You can't rely on local lads all the time."
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