3 weeks ago
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MANCHESTER UNITED football director John Murtough has stepped down after 11 years of service with the club.
The change comes as new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos team continue to reshuffle the pack at Old Trafford.
PAMurtough joined Man Utd in 2013 with a CV that had him working at the Premier League, Everton and Fulham.
The 50-year-old has been the football director for over five years after spending his initial time with United in charge of the academy and scouting.
Murtough was key in bringing Erik ten Hag in as manager alongside former chief executive Richard Arnold.
And he has also been responsible for a number of key signings made by the club as well as working tirelessly behind the scenes to promote academy graduates into the first team.
But now The Athletic have reported that his time with the club has come to an end.
It is expected that he will be replaced by Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth who is a long term target of Man Utd and is currently on gardening leave as a result of the club’s interest.
Southampton’s director of football Jason Wilcox is also anticipated to join the Manchester giants as technical director in the near future.
It is said that United are hopeful Wilcox will join their project in the coming weeks once they are able to reach a compensation with Saints.
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Ins and outs since Sir Jim Ratcliffe takeover
Here are some of the personnel changes at Old Trafford since Sir Jim Ratcliffe's takeover
Ins
- Sir Dave Brailsford – Acting as Ratcliffe’s right-hand man, the former British Cycling boss is now the Director of Sport at INEOS
- Omar Berrada – Pinched from Manchester City, he has been appointed the club’s new chief executive
- Dan Ashworth – Has been placed on gardening leave at Newcastle as Man Utd look to seal a deal to make him their new sporting director
- Jason Wilcox – Quit Southampton and is expected to arrive at Old Trafford as technical director
Outs
- Richard Arnold – Left his role as CEO in November, but only stepped down from the board in February
- John Murtough – Quit as Man Utd’s football director after 11 years at Old Trafford
Whereas the process of bringing Ashworth in is expected to take significantly longer.
It has been reported that Newcastle are holding out for £20m in compensation for their chief who they only brought in from Brighton in early 2022.
But United are understood to be hoping to convince the Magpies to settle for a figure significantly below their requested fee.
Other senior figures are also arriving in the coming months with Omar Berrada due to take up his role as chief executive in the summer in a switch from local rivals Manchester City.
Former Man Utd midfielder Darren Fletcher is currently the technical director at the club, but it is reported that he will be placed under a new unconfirmed title as part of the shake up.
Ratcliffe and his Ineos team have been making big changes from the top down since they were been put in charge of football operations following their 27.7 per cent takeover.
As well as a number of new execs through the door at the Theatre of Dreams they have also begun a financial review of the club.
It has been reported that Ratcliffe has enlisted the help of financial experts Interpath to conduct a cost-cutting review at the club to keep their finances in line with Financial Fair Play (FFP) and Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
The review has already seen department heads’ credit cards cut off and access to chauffeured private cars taken away from a number of senior figures.
AFPWilly Kambwala wants to become rock at the back for Man Utd... but Erik ten Hag probably won't be around to see it
By Ken Lawrence
ERIK TEN HAG insists he is still the right man to take Manchester United forward.
The Dutchman believes he can recapture their former glories, despite escaping for the second time in a row what could have been humiliation by Liverpool at the weekend.
And teen Willy Kambwala revealed his “passion” is to become a rock at the heart of United’s defence after making just his second start of the season against their bitter rivals.
United trailed 1-0 at half-time on Sunday but fought back to take a 2-1 lead before Mo Salah’s 84th-minute equaliser from the penalty spot.
Ten Hag was pleased with the second-half performance, declaring it “another signal and message for the future,” before adding, “the team and squad have high potential.”
Yet the Old Trafford chief sounds more and more like he has his finger stuck in a leaky dyke and does not think it is going to hold.
Comeback or not, United still threw away a lead for the third time in eight days following their 4-3 defeat to Chelsea and 1-1 draw with Brentford — both deep into injury time.
And his body language suggests he expects to be crossing it to go back to Holland with his P45 this summer
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