Ineos have made their first major transfer move with £50m Manchester United decision

Training grounds matter to players. At Manchester United there might be a significant focus on the future of Old Trafford, but for the current squad and potential signings, the £50m investment in Carrington will be of greater value.

Even with Old Trafford requiring modernisation, there remains an attraction to play there. When the players walk out at 3pm on a Saturday they don't see the outdated facilities and the fading paintwork, but a stadium with a story to tell, one of the most famous venues in the game.

When they turn up at training, however, they do notice that things aren't quite right. It didn't take Cristiano Ronaldo long to point that out when he returned to the club for his second spell.

This is where they spend the vast majority of their working week. It is where they train, where they eat and where they prepare. Players will notice if it's not being kept up to a high standard and new signings will notice if it isn't as impressive as other training grounds.

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When you're trying to convince a player to sign for your club this stuff matters. A comfortable, spacious, state-of-the-art workplace is an attractive asset to show off and it really can make a difference. When a player is spending so much time there they want it to be amongst the very best, especially at a club that aspires to be the very best.

That hasn't been the case for a long time at Carrington. Much like Old Trafford, a lack of care and attention has allowed it to be overtaken by clubs who have either spruced up their existing training grounds or moved to new locations. Players no longer consider it amongst the best in the Premier League.

For evidence of that you only need to read Sir Jim Ratcliffe's comments on announcing the £50m investment into the facility, with work starting on Monday and set to last the entire season.

“We want to create a world-class environment for our teams to win," said Ratcliffe.

"When we conducted a thorough review of the Carrington training facilities and met with our men’s first-team players, it was clear the standards had fallen below some of our peers. This project will ensure Manchester United’s training ground is once more renovated to the highest standards."

The fact players at the club are raising the state of Carrington as an issue with Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford shows how much this matters to them. They won't have been saying the same things about Old Trafford, which isn't to say that the stadium doesn't need significant work, as Ineos have already stated.

But for the players, this is a priority, while it is also cheaper and easier to deliver on than either improving Old Trafford or building a new stadium, with the money the first tranche of the $300m Ratcliffe invested for infrastructure improvements on sealing his minority investment into the club.

The £50m will also pay United back. Not only does it improve the working environment for players but it makes the club a more attractive proposition to potential signings. Playing for United is a good selling point, but it's not the deal sealer it was a decade ago.

Instead, players will want to know that the conditions are in place to deliver success and make up ground on Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal. Ineos are getting a lot of things right and this statement is another example of that.

This summer they will only have plans to show prospective new signings, but it shows that they are taking action. That alone is encouraging for players to hear.