Manchester United are deep in talks with Antero Henrique over taking up the role of technical director at Old Trafford.
Since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement as manager in 2013, the Red Devils have opted against implementing such a position in the club, with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward overseeing business and transfer dealings.
The search for a technical director has been ongoing for a number of months, but United have stepped up their efforts as part of a longer-term vision that would cover all areas of the club as opposed to focusing predominantly on recruitment.
That said, anyone coming in will not take over transfer dealings, but work in tandem with Woodward and chief negotiator Matt Judge - who are largely expected to continue to play an integral part of the club’s recruitment process.
As per the Independent, negotiations with former Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Henrique have now entered an 'advanced' stage, with some sources close to the Portuguese even suggesting that a deal close to competition.
Handpicked by PSG's Qatari owners, Henrique was tasked with overseeing a period of transformation in the French capital, securing Kylian Mbappe from Monaco on an initial loan, Neymar from Barcelona in a world-record £198m deal and Dani Alves from Juventus.
Henrique is also largely credited with convincing Mbappe to shun interest from Real Madrid.
Red Bull's head of sport and development Ralf Rangnick was also in the running for the post. Sections of the United hierarchy actually favoured the German for the position, and Rangnick was interested in a move to the Premier League.
However, L'Equipe (via Football Italia) have reported that he has signed a pre-contract with Milan. He had been heavily linked with heading to San Siro to become both manager and sporting director in recent weeks.
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Source :
90min
