Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is finally prepared to appoint a director of football at the club, with ex-players Rio Ferdinand and Darren Fletcher among those who have reportedly have been consulted for the role.
Woodward, who is in charge of the day-to-day running of the club at boardroom level, has received significant criticism for his lack of footballing nous, whilst receiving praise for his expansion of the Red Devils' commercial operations.
Since the 47-year-old took over from David Gill as de facto CEO of the club in 2012, United's recruitment has been largely disappointing.
Ed Woodward is set to finally hire a director of football. The #mufc vice- executive has felt “wounded” following criticism from fans and investors with the club discussing the role for over a year. [goal] pic.twitter.com/zeu0cfek49
— ManUnitedZone (@ManUnitedZone_) November 1, 2019
During Woodward's tenure, the Red Devils have forked out a whopping £840m in combined transfer fees and have received little reward - having only won the League Cup, FA Cup and Europa League.
Expensive transfer that have failed to live up to expectations include Angel Di Maria, Memphis Depay and most recently, Alexis Sanchez - whose reported £500,000-a-week wages have only returned five goals in 45 games so far.
Goal report that the criticism that he has received for these failings has finally convinced the executive vice-chairman that a change in transfer strategy is necessary - with the introduction of a director of football now imminent.
As well as Ferdinand and Fletcher, a number of other football executives have been linked with this role in the past.
Edwin van der Sar, who is currently CEO of Ajax and spent five successful seasons at the club as a player, was touted for the position in October.
Similarly, Stuart Webber, who is Norwich City's sporting director, was also linked with a move to United in the summer.
Despite the lengthy list of names supposedly interested in the role, Goal also report that no clear frontrunner has emerged.
United have also reportedly been contemplating this decision for over a year already, meaning the saga's endpoint is still likely to be some way off.
Source : 90min