Manchester United have reportedly approached the University of Manchester for assistance with predicting injuries to new signings.
United have been hit with a number of injury blows this season, with Lisandro Martinez ruled out until late 2025 with a serious knee injury, while Luke Shaw and Mason Mount have also hardly featured due to their respective fitness issues. Amad Diallo is also not expected to play again this season, plus Kobbie Mainoo and Toby Collyer are both currently sidelined.
Injuries were also a major problem last season under Erik ten Hag, and United paid the price by finishing down in eighth place.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe recently claimed that data analysis at the club 'doesn't really exist', adding 'we’re still in the last century on data analysis here'.
United are now looking at overhauling their data analysis department, and have put out an SOS call to a local university.
According to Manchester Evening News, United are seeking out students who may be capable of putting together an algorithm that could predict injuries.
The Red Devils spent around £180m on five new players last summer, and have managed to keep Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Joshua Zirkzee fit throughout the campaign.
However, £52m defender Leny Yoro missed the first three months of the season with a broken foot, and Manuel Ugarte has also been unavailable for some matches.
United are in a difficult financial position, and have introduced a number of cost-cutting measures in recent weeks.
Earlier this week, the club shut their paid-for stadium staff canteen, and they will now only offer free fruit to non-playing staff.
They also announced that they are set to make up to 200 redundancies to balance the club's books.
With this in mind, the club will know they cannot afford to make mistakes in the transfer market either by spending big on players at risk of injury.
Therefore, they are trying to get help from students to ensure they bring in players that are likely to stay fit and prove value for money.