30 January 2024 , 18:37
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John Murtough will have less of a say at Manchester United once Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS colleagues complete their internal shake-up at Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe, chairman and founder of the petrochemicals conglomerate, is currently assessing the structure of United's footballing hierarchy after agreeing a £1.3billion deal with owners the Glazer family which will give him a 25 per cent stake in the club and control over their sporting operations. A new CEO - Manchester City's chief operating officer, Omar Berrada - has already been appointed to replace Richard Arnold, while the Red Devils are also set to bring in a new sporting director over the coming weeks.
Murtough, who's been at Old Trafford since midway through David Moyes' reign in 2013, having worked with the Scottish manager at Everton, became United's first ever football director in March 2021. The 53-year-old Mancunian has since been in charge of overseeing transfers and recruitment alongside the Red Devils' two permanent managers during his time in the role - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag.
According to the Telegraph, however, Murtough's role is about to be diminished, as Ratcliffe and co are preparing to appoint a sporting director who'll assume many of his duties when it comes to recruitment. Also involved in the club's transfer dealings will be INEOS director of sport, Sir Dave Brailsford, once British cycling's head honcho, and INEOS chief executive of sport, Jean-Claude Blanc, formerly of Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain.
Brailsford is set to kick-off a six-week-long audit of United's footballing framework once Ratcliffe's deal is formally ratified by the Premier League, but seismic changes are already being made. INEOS are claimed to have considered as many as nine candidates during their search for a sporting director.
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Your turn! Does John Murtough deserve to have his role downgraded? Let us know your stance in the comments section.
Erik ten Hag has worked closely with John Murtough during transfer windows (Kevork Djansezian/Manchester United via Getty Images)Newcastle bigwig Dan Ashworth and former Liverpool transfer chief Julian Ward are among the names reported, as well as Crystal Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman and ex- Southampton, Tottenham, RB Leipzig and Monaco man Paul Mitchell. Atletico Madrid's Andrea Berta, Juventus' Cristiano Giuntoli and former Welsh footballer Lee Congerton - who's now Atalanta's head of recruitment - all join them, as do former AC Milan pair Ricky Masara and Paolo Maldini.
Whoever gets the job, they're set to have a big say on the future of current manager Ten Hag, who after a promising first season has lost 14 of 31 games this term.