Ten Hag sack? Man Utd audit puts decision on hold as Brailsford’s ‘main man’ revealed
Sir Dave Brailsford is set to lead an eight-week audit at Manchester United, after which key decisions and appointments will be made.
Brailsford is heading the Ineos audit as they go through the Premier League Owners and Directors Test for a minority stake in the club according to the Independent, which claims the purpose is primarily to understand “the performance challenge”. I.e. why have United been so terrible for so long.
Given the process will take eight weeks, it’s likely to be a quiet January, and also likely Erik ten Hag will remain as manager until the end of the season.
United will decide whether football operations will be controlled by one director of football or whether the role will be split in two: one director of football and one sporting director.
It’s claimed primary targets have been sounded out with this issue in mind and ‘that has not diminished interest in many cases’. Which would suggest it has in some…
On the potential candidates for the roles, the report states:
‘Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell is very much seen as a contender, and it would also suit him from a personal perspective due to his family being in Manchester.
‘Brailsford’s own main choice is former Liverpool official Julian Ward, who is also interested, although such decisions will not come down to the former Team Sky manager alone.
‘Expected chief executive Jean-Claude Blanc will have the primary say. Ward’s former Liverpool colleague Michael Edwards has long been an option, but the view in the industry is that he would be reluctant to move back into a club role for anything less than an offer of £10m a year.
‘Along the same lines, Newcastle United’s Dan Ashworth is currently reluctant to go to Old Trafford, due to the scope of his role at St James’ Park.
‘It is understood the Manchester club would have to go very high with a financial offer and well-defined terms to tempt him.’
Meanwhile, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has described Ashworth as Ratcliffe’s “dream sporting director” as he is “considered the perfect candidate”.
“A name for the future as Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the INEOS group work behind the scenes to improve the future of the club. They will have sporting control and for them it’s crucial to have a new director, and they really want and appreciate Dan Ashworth,” Romano told Caught Offside.
“Ashworth, currently at Newcastle, is more than a candidate for Man United, he is considered the perfect candidate.
“Newcastle insist on Ashworth staying at the club, they are 100% convinced to continue with him as an important part of their project.
“Still, I can confirm today that INEOS really love him and view him as the perfect candidate. Paul Mitchell is also being considered, but Ashworth is really appreciated, and we’ll see what kind of structure United build for the future.”
MEDIAWATCH: Why Ten Hag’s ‘bizarre’ Manchester United transfer message actually makes perfect sense
