Manchester United: Six candidates to take over as sporting director at Old Trafford

Change is coming at Manchester United. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s deal to buy a 25 per cent stake in the club and take control of the football side of the business will inevitably see shifts in personnel.

A new sporting director is probable, someone who knows football across Europe and has extensive contacts. That may or may not mean the end for current football director John Murtough, a rated administrator who is amenable to working with the new group.

United’s recruitment has been heavily criticised in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. Unlike at other clubs, the manager is still given near absolute power with recruitment. So David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and now Erik ten Hag have all brought in the players they want, but that invariably creates problems when the manager subsequently leaves. Yet, at United, that is not the only problem.

“There are so many layers involved in the decision-making at Manchester United, with so many approvals needed, that by the time they get the approval, the price has shifted significantly – they are the victim of their own process,” one high-level football agent told The National.

At the most successful clubs, the manager typically has an experienced sporting director working alongside them – like Txiki Begiristain at Manchester City with Pep Guardiola, or Erik ten Hag had with Marc Overmars at Ajax. Here are some potential candidates United might consider for the role.

The 49-year-old was the technical/sports director at Barcelona until earlier this year. He was close to the coach Xavi Hernandez and Mateu Alemany, who carried out negotiations.

“In England, you might describe us as the football CEO, the sports director and the manager,” Cruyff said. “This