Manchester United FC have, for long, been advised to have a director of football at the club, to handle transfer-related activities. Almost all the big clubs have a director of football in place that takes care of player contracts and recruits. United CEO, Ed Woodward has finally decided to get sporting director at Old Trafford to get better recruits to help the team.
After Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill’s retirement, Woodward has taken up the executive role at United. Woodward was a banker and didn’t have any prior experience in a football club and was regarded as bad recruitment by the Glazers. He has been found guilty of several poor signings for the Red Devils and has been a disliked figure amongst the fanbase.
The director of football will work in tandem with Solskjaer and handle the contract situations and recruitment side of the club. Woodward has been single-handedly doing these for the past seven years and has finally decided to let go of those duties. The Red Devils have lately been culprits of paying extra for recruits and a director of football might solve the issue.
Woodward is reportedly looking at three candidates from different clubs to get in the club’s first director of sports. The reported candidates are Atletico Madrid’s Andrea Berta, Juventus’ Fabio Paratici and former PSG director Antero Henrique. All of the above-mentioned men are experienced in big clubs and have done very well.
United are in a rebuilding phase and because of the pandemic situation will need to be sure about their singings. The Red Devils have constantly paid extra for even mediocre players because of Woodward’s inexperience in handling football recruits. There also been several instances when Woodward hasn’t allowed managers to get their type of players, which hasn’t resulted well on the pitch.
With Ed Woodward taking a step back and welcoming a director of football, better deals and negotiations will be expected. The director of football is a specialist position and only needs to be given to people with experience rather than former players. Only time will tell if United get a sporting director who will put some structure to the recruitment.
