Of course, Manchester United fans have seen and heard it all before. Another year. Another youth transfer policy. Hoover up the best young talent around the globe. Focus on potential, not the readymade. Move away from established 'big names' and target only prospects under a certain age.
As we say, United have done this before. They've trumpeted the same policy before. Past management teams. Past chief execs and technical directors. They've all spoken of the same 'youth first' approach. Though to be fair to this lot, in the past they never actually named it...
Dave Brailsford, we hear, is driving this 'new, innovative' project. The cycling pro supported in his plans by James Morton, a nutritionist boasting a working past with Liverpool. That's the brainstrust behind the latest version of United's transfer policy. Just what could go wrong...?
To be fair, the arrival of Patrick Dorgu does appear to confirm that 'Mission 21' is indeed underway. The plan behind the moniker is to bring a 21st Premier League title to Old Trafford within the next three years. And as laid out staff to earlier this season, the project's success will rely on United signing the world's best young players and developing them within the club's coaching system.
Far-fetched? Of course. Particularly when you consider Manchester City's near £200m outlay this January market. City management making their move despite boasting arguably the most successful academy system in the country. You can win things with kids, of course, but not when you're starting as far back as United.
But at least management have shown Mission 21 isn't just an empty slogan. At least for now. Dorgu, snapped up from Lecce last weekend, was signed with the intention to play. The Dane starting in Friday night's scratchy FA Cup win against Leicester City.
Out of position and out of breath. Dorgu was hooked at halftime by manager Ruben Amorim, who defended playing the left-sided wing-back on the right of midfield for his introduction. The Portuguese using Wyscout to justify his decision.
"He played a lot of times in Lecce on the right," he said. That is one of the characteristics that we pay attention to a lot, to have a player like him. He was a little bit anxious in the first touch with the ball. It's a different league for him, different speed of the game, but he did well.
"He has space, he has strength, he’s going to improve a lot. And we, as a team, we need to play better to help these new guys to perform at the right level. But the position, and you can see in Wyscout that he’s played in both sides.”
Paul Scholes and Roy Keane disagreed in the aftermath, but to be fair to Amorim, he's actually correct. At Lecce, under both Marco Giampaolo and Luca Gotti this season, Dorgu played as many games on the right-side of midfield as he did on the left. Indeed, as an out-and-out right winger he scored all three goals of his account this season with the I Lupi.
On debut. As the flagbearer for Mission 21. Dorgu did struggle. As his manager said, quicker pace, sharper tackles, Dorgu will need to adjust. But for those who had worked with the Dane at Lecce since his 2022 arrival, it will only be a matter of time before he meets expectations.
Countryman Dan Thomassen, who was part of Gotti's staff at Lecce, said of Dorgu: "Those of us who deal with him every day quickly discover how great the potential is.
"He will end up in a big club because the base is already there, I think technically, tactically and physically. Many guys have this base, but Dorgu also adds the mental aspect to this. He is not influenced by external factors. It could be a mistake he makes or a goal he scores. He is very mentally stable."
Osijek coach Federico Coppitelli worked with Dorgu when in charge of Lecce's Primavera and insists: "For me, his natural role is left-back. And in him I see the skills of the predestined."
Coppitelli also recalled: "The Lecce scouting area is very good. He was a Danish junior international and he was the only player without a professional contract. Everyone could take him but nobody saw him except our scouting boss. He has the characteristic of not being pressured."
That "scouting boss" was the wily and experienced Pantaleo Corvino, one of the greats of Italy's dealmakers. Now running things at Lecce, as Coppitelli declared, Corvino spotted the potential of Dorgu before anyone else. The sports director convinced Lecce to part with €200,000 to ferry the then teen away from Nordsjaelland. Less than three years later and Dorgu was sold for a near €40m fee.
"Dorgu is a potential champion," Corvino said before Christmas. "Wait: he is a champion. Defensive or attacking flanker, runs for three players and sees the goal, has an engine that everyone else is missing.
"His destiny is assured. The future belongs to him."
After over 30 years in his field, Corvino has perfected the skill of buying low and selling high. Better than turning to the cyclist and the nutritionist, United would've done well to bend the ear of the 75 year-old football man about how you go about actually making a youth transfer policy succeed.