Decisive Ineos appointments prove credentials amid Manchester United delay

They might be playing in the same European competition next season but the two leading football clubs in the Ineos portfolio operate in very different waters. While Manchester United are trying to do the poaching, Nice are always vulnerable to having their best players and staff snatched away from them.

So it's proved after a successful season in Ligue 1. While they couldn't maintain an unlikely Champions League push, the team from the French Riviera punched above their weight to finish fifth. Unfortunately, that meant the sharks were circling.

On May 22 Nice's sporting director Florent Ghisolfi moved to Roma. The following day their impressive young boss Francesco Farioli was named the new head coach of Ajax. Overperform at the top end of European football these days and you don't get long to savour the success before the vultures start to take an interest.

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What has been impressive at Ineos-owned Nice is the speed at which they have reacted to these setbacks. The focus of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford is on fixing United, but on June 6 their French club announced the appointment of a new head coach and sporting director. It had taken them just two weeks to replace the two key cogs in their success from last season.

Florian Maurice was named sporting director, joining after four years as technical director at Rennes, while Franck Haise moved from Lens to become Nice's new head coach. The two appointments give the club plenty of time to plan for the new season and the opening of the transfer window.

“It’s satisfying to have laid the