Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: Bringing the 'United' Kingdom element back at Manchester United

It has been a lopsided first few months for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer since his remarkable run as interim manager at Manchester United.

From the comeback win against PSG at Paris to the 2-0 humbling against an already relegated Cardiff City at Old Trafford, it has been quite a ride. However, a hallmark of the period since that run has been squad discontent, with Paul Pogba looking to move and Alexis Sanchez's wage proving to be too high with little returns.

David de Gea's underwhelming performances last season have pushed the case for a move away and Romelu Lukaku moves closer to a move to what may ultimately turn out to be Inter Milan. All in all, not home sweet home.

Nevertheless, the ongoing transfer window so far has seen, as always, United being named amongst a host of destinations for sought-after players. But what can definitely be seen is a push towards procuring talent from the UK, something that has not been seen since Sir Alex Ferguson built a treble-winning team with the Class of '92, Roy Keane, Andy Cole and Denis Irwin.

Manchester United's 1999 UCL Final Starting Lineup. 7 out of the 11 were from the UK.

Change in recruiting since Sir Alex's retirement

Since his departure in 2013 however, United have bought players like Ander Herrera, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo, Angel di Maria, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sergio Romero, Anthony Martial, Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Victor Lindelof, Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic and Alexis Sanchez.

What can be observed is that of these players, only two (Shaw and Lee Grant) come from the British isles, with Grant of them signed as a third choice goalkeeper. A total of £686.7 million was spent during this period, with not many proving to be the hits they were expected to be.

Why United's approach is interesting

The current status of the Premier League means that a lot of the world's prime talents end up in England, meaning that top teams continue to sign players from across Europe and South America.

Hence among the top 6, only Tottenham have a considerable presence of British players with Harry Kane, Danny Rose, Dele Alli, Kyle Walker-Peters, Oliver Skipp, Harry Winks, Eric Dier, Ben Davies and Kieran Trippier. This makes United's approach refreshing. Their latest signings, Daniel James (Wales) and Aaron Wan-Bissaka (England). While James is an unknown entity in the Premier League and Wan-Bissaka has just one admittedly excellent season of Premier League football behind him, the intent that United and Solskjaer have shown so far, in the midst of all the De Ligt hullabaloo, is good to see.

They have also shown interest in Scotland's John McGinn, who scored that unbelievable volley for newly promoted Aston Villa in the Championship last season. They have also shown faith in the current British crop of players in Phil Jones, Ashley Young and Chris Smalling by giving them contract extensions.

Effect of consistent performances in recent global tournaments

This approach is also a deviation from what was an apprehension towards bringing in academy talent during Jose Mourinho's tenure. The likes of Scott McTominay and Mason Greenwood breaking into the playing XI, the latter under Solskjaer is evidence of this. What this also shows is the talent possessed by the current burst of talent coming through the club system in England, with victory in the U-17 World Cup in 2017 and reaching the World Cup semi-final last year being proof of this.

With the Bundesliga also now providing first team action to English youngsters, the onus is on clubs in England to not lose these players as they approach their peak. And while the project may only be underway for Solskjaer at Old Trafford, in a league which has seen British presence dwindle amongst the top 6 teams, a different kind of revamp is underway at Manchester United.