Published 09:45 26 Apr 2024 GMT+1Updated 09:45 26 Apr 2024 GMT+1

Manchester United are believed to have held 'several meetings' after one of their signings showed they were heading in the wrong direction.

United's transfer business over the last few years has been largely underwhelming, with so many signings under multiple managers not working out.

But plenty of people look at the loan addition of Odion Ighalo as a real sign of how the club had fallen.

The Nigerian signed on the final day of the 2020 January transfer window, taking a substantial pay cut from his Shanghai Shenhua contract to secure his dream move.

Ighalo, the seventh African to play for United, scored five times in 23 appearances.

But it's claimed that the club held a meeting following the arrival of Ighalo as many felt as though they should not have been in a situation where they had to bring him in.

Instead, officials believed there should have been strikers progressing through the academy ranks.

"A few years ago, when United needed to bring in [Odion] Ighalo, there was a pretty high-level meeting within the club," Andy Mitten of the Athletic said on the Talk of the Devils podcast.

"According to people within the club, there should never have been a need to go for him.

"There should have been people coming out of the academy system and there just wasn't.

"The club got together and said, 'Why is this not happening? We've got an issue here'.

"You could say it's still an issue because last season Wout Weghorst had to be brought in."

United were forced into repeating the action by drafting in Wout Weghorst on loan last term.

But there is optimism that recent debutant Ethan Wheatley, the 250th academy graduate to make it to the first-team, can make the step up.

The 18-year-old striker came off the bench in the 4-2 win over Sheffield United on Wednesday.

His cameo came just 24 hours after he scored a brace to help the Under 18's beat rivals Manchester City in the Premier League cup final.

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