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Sir Jim Ratcliffe-owned FC Lausanne-Sport would welcome the opportunity to take Manchester United players on loan, sporting director Stephane Henchoz has confirmed.
United sent youngsters Jack Kingdon, Habeeb Ogunneye and Ethan Williams to the Swiss club in October, giving them the opportunity to train in a first-team environment. Lausanne were understood to be happy with how the trial period went after reaching an agreement with United to open their doors to some of the Reds’ youngsters.
The Swiss club have been under Ineos’ stewardship since 2017 and the agreement between them and United to give academy players an overseas experience is a benefit of their multi-club model. With the January transfer window currently open for business, Henchoz has admitted he hopes United will consider Lausanne as an option for players who may benefit from a loan move.
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“I hope so,” Henchoz told Blick. “The English [club] can also benefit. Three talented Red Devils players trained with us for a week, accompanied by a delegation from Manchester. They were positively surprised by our work. In any case, Lausanne can be an option for Manchester United players who still need to mature.”
Since securing a minority stake in United last year, the bulk of Ineos’ and Ratcliffe’s time has been spent trying to sort out problems at Old Trafford and putting building blocks in place to take the club forward. As a result, overseas reports have suggested they could lose interest in Lausanne.
However, Henchoz quickly dismissed such talk, adding: “I haven’t heard anything along those lines. Owning three clubs of different sizes can be very interesting.
“A world-class club like Manchester United, a top club like Nice and a smaller organisation like Lausanne-Sport opens up options for exchanging players. Our owner has no reason to part with any of the clubs.”