Manchester United’s long-term defensive midfield solution could come in the form of future Colombian arrival Cristian Orozco.
The 17-year-old is heavily linked with an Old Trafford switch and is tipped to join the Red Devils next summer upon turning 18.
FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) rules prohibit English clubs signing teenagers from overseas before their 18th birthday, meaning fans will have to wait until next July for him to officially become a Man United player.
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New Manchester United arrival Cristian Orozco in for Old Trafford surprise
Cristian Orozco (back left) lines up alongside the Fortaleza squad in Colombia’s top flight (Image credit: Getty Images)
Orozco currently represents Fortaleza, the Bogotá-based club sitting third in Colombia’s top flight ‘Torneo Finalización’ table.
Upon arriving at Old Trafford next summer, Orozco is likely to begin his Man United integration with the club’s academy and Under-21 setup, although that depends on his development over the next nine months.
Joshua Zirkzee of Manchester United in action during a first team training session at Carrington Training Ground (Image credit: Getty Images)
The teenager could be in for a surprise due to recent developments at the club’s Carrington training base.
According to a report from The Athletic, Man United’s £50 million training ground revamp has not factored in the U21s and U18s.
While the first-team will benefit from significantly upgraded facilities, Man United youngsters are being ‘housed in temporary cabins in the players’ car park’.
“In the old setup, [U21s and U18s] had their own ground-floor dressing room, close to the first team’s,” The Athletic report reads. “They also had a treatment room down the corridor to the senior medics department, and would share social areas with senior players, including in the canteen. Academy staff had office space upstairs, again near the first team, facilitating conversations with the manager and executives.”
Mason Mount during a first team training session (Image credit: Getty Images)
The idea behind severing close ties between the senior group and junior sides is an aspirational one, designed to serve as a motivation for Man United’s young players who want to break into the elites’ dressing room.
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Orozco, therefore, will need to prove his worth, either through his displays in Colombia or by hitting the ground running upon arriving in Manchester, impressing the coaching staff early on to consolidate a place among the first-team cohort.
Furthermore, at academy level, the club’s head of youth scouting Luke Fedorenko is leaving Old Trafford.
The club’s academy recruitment lead was previously chief youth scout before a 2023 promotion, having initially joined the Red Devils from Sheffield United in 2017.
Old Trafford, September 2025 (Image credit: Getty Images)
According to BBC Sport, Fedorenko will soon begin working for an agency and has parted with the club amicably.
He is said to have been a key figure in bringing striker Chido Obi and defender Ayden Heaven to the club from Arsenal.
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