Manchester United are planning an imminent appointment of a Director of Football as the club look to rebuild under new minority owners INEOS.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS group have taken charge of football operations at Manchester United after purchasing a 25% stake in the Premier League club, and are beginning plans to restructure the hierarchy at Old Trafford.
A deal has been agreed to bring in Omar Berrada from Manchester City as the club’s new chief executive, with Ratcliffe wanting to form a transfer committee in a bid to improve recruitment.
One appointment expected in the ‘coming days’ is a Director of Football, with the Telegraph reporting that an announcement is expected imminently.
Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth and Crystal Palace’s Dougie Freedman are both admired at Manchester United and are considered leading candidates for the position. Ashworth previously worked at Brighton before his move to Newcastle in February 2022.
Freedman, meanwhile, has helped lower the average age of the Crystal Palace squad and has been responsible for bringing in names such as Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi and Michael Olise for modest fees, each of whom have been linked with big-money exits from Selhurst Park.
Paul Mitchell, who has led recruitment at Spurs, RB Leipzig and AS Monaco, is another who has regularly been linked with taking up the Director of Football role at Old Trafford.
