Well, where to begin?...
I've been to a number of events with Mr McCabe down the years, in which he has talked about his vision for United. This vision ineluctably leads him to academy players playing the key role in the Blades regeneration. Or to be more precise: academy players starring in the first team being the route to on field success for the Blades. Have we seen this over the last decade? I'd have to say no. Some players have made excellent contributions - such as Harry Maguire, - but most have made very fleeting impacts. Does this matter to most fans? No, as long as the club is successful alongside player sales. Some fans would say McCabe's blueprint is disingenuous; others that the sales were inevitable but the deals were wrong. Others will blame the manager's use of the money, as the primary reason sales haven't been married with success.
In the last couple of years, we have had a stellar crop emerging, and I've looked forward to the likes of Semple, Ramsdale, Slater, DCL and Brooks coming through. Some of these have been sold, already. The difference being: success and sales have gone hand in hand under Wilder.
Where I have been disappointed is in the prices we get for our players.This will only come under greater scrutiny the higher in the pyramid we climb.As a championship club, the financial parameters have changed. The frankly bargains prices that we allowed Ramsdale and DCL to move for, will not allow us to pay the wages and fees for the same volume of players we obtained with these funds in league one (if similar sales happen). If the goal is to climb the ladder with a team containing top class academy players, and/or do it with the funds we obtain from them - the fees have to be much bigger.In Brook's case, I would ask this question: is now the right time to sell him and maximise his value? If McCabe's vision of a team full of academy lad's is a utopian one, then maximising value is the key issue. Sell them when under long contracts, when they're at the peak of their valuation.