Sir Jim Ratcliffe earmarks five candidates for the Manchester United Sporting Director role
According to the Mirror, as he nears becoming the major stakeholder at Manchester United, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has drawn up a list of five candidates to take over as the next Sporting Director at Old Trafford.
This week, Ratcliffe, the founder and CEO of the petrochemical group INEOS, is expected to finalise a £1.4 billion agreement that will see his business acquire 25% of the club as part of a staged takeover.
The second-richest person in Britain and his fellow INEOS executives will be given authority to manage United’s football activities, albeit the Glazers will continue to have the majority of financial control.
John Murtough currently serves in the role and his record is far from impeccable. Ratcliffe might seek to take the club in a new direction and appears likely to bring in his own man.
One such candidate is Paul Mitchell who recently left his position at AS Monaco. The 42-year-old has an excellent track record and also hails from Greater Manchester. Ratcliffe will be aware of his ability having seen his work up close in Ligue 1. More so, Mitchell appears to have a close relationship with those already at INEOS.
Former Liverpool men Michael Edwards and Julian Ward are also in consideration. Both played a key role in the Reds’ brilliant recruitment strategy but their association with Anfield could more or less downplay any chance of them ending up at Old Trafford.
Newcastle United’s Dan Ashworth has built himself a solid reputation at Brighton and now on Tyneside with some smart recruitment. It is thus no surprise that the 52-year-old is on the wishlist. However, the Red Devils will need to pay a hefty compensation to land him, assuming he even wants to leave at all.
Rather than looking elsewhere, INEOS could also promote from within. This is where Jean-Claude Blanc, who took over as CEO of the corporation’s athletic empire in December 2022 comes in. It will certainly be interesting to see who Ratcliffe and Co. go with.
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Ratcliffe harshly claimed in the past that United had spent “dumb money,” during the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. He now has a chance to correct it and the new sporting director would be entrusted with fixing the club’s recent recruitment record. Who it is remains to be seen.
