Manchester United are looking to finalise an appointment which will show how far the club has come.
The sporting director role was not one Manchester United took particularly seriously under Ed Woodward. It took until 2021 to promote John Murtough into a similar role, who now looks set to be replaced.
Gary Neville this past weekend described it as a mixture of ‘negligence’ and ‘madness’ that a club of United’s size had never appointed a figure with experience into a role like this.
But perhaps it could have been worse? Back in 2019, Sky Sports reported Ed Woodward was holding talks with Rio Ferdinand about potentially becoming sporting director.
New Newcastle United Sporting Director Dan Ashworth
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Rio Ferdinand backs Dan Ashworth
Now with Ineos providing some professionalism to the world’s biggest club, Manchester United have identified a first choice target.
Dan Ashworth has told Newcastle he wants to take the job at Old Trafford, and is now on gardening leave until compensation terms are figured out.
Now, the man that could have had the role many years back, Rio Ferdinand, has backed Ashworth to be a major success.
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Ferdinand tells Five: “If I had my choice to take a sporting director it would have been him.
“I think he’s the best. He’s so calm, he’s so sure on what he’s doing. He’s so focused, he’s diligent, he knows the market.
“He’s not swayed, I don’t think he gets bullied by agents, stuff like that. He knows the market value of players.
“He ain’t getting told this player’s worth 50 but for you it’s 75. It ain’t happening, we’ll just move on to other targets then.”
Manchester United need a Plan A, B, C and D
Manchester United have previously gone into transfer windows ill-prepared. It has seen the club become singularly focused on one target, and quite often paying over the odds. See Antony, for instance.
And if that player was not available, see Frenkie de Jong, United would then switch, belatedly, to a different target with a very different playing style – see Casemiro.
Ashworth has comprehensive knowledge and experience in the football market, and will have a plan. He won’t be asked to do it alone either.
Ineos are acting shrewdly and decisively to put together a top class backroom team to help Manchester United get back on track on the pitch. The move for Ashworth shows their talent ID is top level, and managing to pull it off would be a major coup.
Manchester United are keeping eyes on Bayer Leverkusen and Ivory Coast defender Odilon Kossounou.
Bayer Leverkusen defender Odilon Kossounou has been among the standout defenders in the Bundesliga this season and is reportedly among four players Manchester United are monitoring
Bayer Leverkusen and Ivory Coast defender Odilon Kossounou..
Manchester United are reportedly in a battle with Tottenham for Bayer Leverkusen defender Odilon Kossounou.
Erik ten Hag has been forced to tweak his central defensive pairing since taking up the Old Trafford helm in the summer of 2022. Former defender Harry Maguire endured time out of the squad, stripped of the captaincy, before playing his way back into the side.
Both Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane have suffered from their respective injury issues. The Argentine is currently sidelined with a knee injury, after recovering from his stint with an ankle injury, but Varane has faced a series of injury problems which have hampered his involvement.
It has been claimed that United face competition from their Premier League rivals for the centre-back. According to SportBILD, Ten Hag and the recruitment team in Manchester are monitoring four of Bayer Leverkusen’s stars including Jeremie Frimpong, Exequiel Palacios, Edmond Tapsoba and Odilon Kossonou.
Last week, the Manchester Evening News confirmed that United were keeping tabs on Tapsoba and Frimpong. Xabi Alonso’s side have defied expectations this season after rising to the top of the Bundesliga and laying siege to Bayern Munich’s dominance at the top of the league.
Juventus defender Gleison Bremer is among the list of players linked with a move to the Premier League in the summer. Man United are among the interested parties, it has been suggested, however, Tuttosport has reported that Bremer is among the seven ‘untouchable’ players in Turin.
Tutto Atalanta has claimed that United are among the four English top-flight clubs that have “initiated” interest in Atalanta midfielder Ederson. The Italian outlet has reported that Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs are rivalling Ten Hag’s side for the 24-year-old Brazilian, who has two years remaining on his contract in Bergamo.
The report suggests that Ederson is a “priority target” for some of England’s giants with Ange Postecoglu’s side long-term admirers after scouting him for an extensive period. A fee of at least €40million (£34m) has been mooted as a minimum for the former Desportivo Brasil trainee.
Manchester United are looking to finalise an appointment which will show how far the club has come.
The sporting director role was not one Manchester United took particularly seriously under Ed Woodward. It took until 2021 to promote John Murtough into a similar role, who now looks set to be replaced.
Gary Neville this past weekend described it as a mixture of ‘negligence’ and ‘madness’ that a club of United’s size had never appointed a figure with experience into a role like this.
But perhaps it could have been worse? Back in 2019, Sky Sports reported Ed Woodward was holding talks with Rio Ferdinand about potentially becoming sporting director.
New Newcastle United Sporting Director Dan Ashworth
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Rio Ferdinand backs Dan Ashworth
Now with Ineos providing some professionalism to the world’s biggest club, Manchester United have identified a first choice target.
Dan Ashworth has told Newcastle he wants to take the job at Old Trafford, and is now on gardening leave until compensation terms are figured out.
Now, the man that could have had the role many years back, Rio Ferdinand, has backed Ashworth to be a major success.
MORE UNITED STORIES
Ferdinand tells Five: “If I had my choice to take a sporting director it would have been him.
“I think he’s the best. He’s so calm, he’s so sure on what he’s doing. He’s so focused, he’s diligent, he knows the market.
“He’s not swayed, I don’t think he gets bullied by agents, stuff like that. He knows the market value of players.
“He ain’t getting told this player’s worth 50 but for you it’s 75. It ain’t happening, we’ll just move on to other targets then.”
Manchester United need a Plan A, B, C and D
Manchester United have previously gone into transfer windows ill-prepared. It has seen the club become singularly focused on one target, and quite often paying over the odds. See Antony, for instance.
And if that player was not available, see Frenkie de Jong, United would then switch, belatedly, to a different target with a very different playing style – see Casemiro.
Ashworth has comprehensive knowledge and experience in the football market, and will have a plan. He won’t be asked to do it alone either.
Ineos are acting shrewdly and decisively to put together a top class backroom team to help Manchester United get back on track on the pitch. The move for Ashworth shows their talent ID is top level, and managing to pull it off would be a major coup.
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