Man United appoint figure from rival in role Sir Jim Ratcliffe had made redundant

Manchester United look set to appoint Brentford’s chief operating officer, Ameesh Manek, as the club's new director of football operations.

The BBC claims the Bees chief has agreed to take on the director of football operations position and that staff at both clubs were informed of the appointment earlier today.

Manek is set to move north and his job will be to oversee the running of United's Carrington training ground.

The report says the incoming chief will also be in charge of 'travel, security, the training facilities and staff management and infrastructure.'

He's set to become the latest arrival following a number of leadership appointments, including Omar Berrada's arrival from Manchester City, Jason Wilcox as technical director, and Marc Armstrong as the club's chief business officer.

Interestingly, the role of director of football operations was previously made redundant by United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, with David Harrison operating in that role from 2023 until 2025.

Harrison was made redundant earlier this year and was one of the most high profile departures from Ratcliffe's cost cutting measures.

Manek will now step into that role, after spending three-years with the Bees. He first joined the club as business operations director before being promoted to the role of chief operating officer in July 2024.

Prior to his spell at Brentford, Manek spent five-years at Arsenal, working his way up to head of first team football operations.

His previous role at the Bees was reportedly more administrative, but the move to United will have 'a larger focus on football matters for both the men's and women's teams.'

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