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Manchester United have announced that two former players, Neil Wood and Quinton Fortune, will take charge of the club’s U-23 side next season. The change is part of a broad restructuring overseen by the head of academy Nicky Butt after an underperforming Ricky Sbragia left the post back in May. Commenting on United’s new appointments, Butt played up the staff’s long-standing links with the club:
“The academy is completely focused on producing well rounded players for our first team and we believe that this new structure provides the perfect platform to achieve this aim. Myself, Neil and Quinton have long standing connections with Manchester United and bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to our roles that we will pass on to the young players.
“It is such an exciting time for the academy with Ole as first team manager; who truly believes in the development of home-grown talent. It was a great source of pride that three academy graduates made their first team debuts last season, as a group we will now look to build on this success.”
Wood, born in Manchester, came through the club’s academy as a player, but never went on to make a professional appearance for United. He returned to the club as an academy coach in 2014, having previously held a similar position at Aston Villa. Meanwhile, Quinton Fortune, a veteran of over a century of first-team appearances for United under Alex Ferguson, was assistant manager of Cardiff’s reserves during Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s ill-fated spell in charge of the senior team.