Manchester United are reportedly in advanced talks with former PSG transfer guru Antero Henrique over the club’s sporting director role.
Henrique presided over the signings of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Dani Alves during his first summer as Paris-Saint Germain’s sporting director.
Before that, he had worked his way up through the hierarchy at Porto, eventually becoming sporting director, with the club crowned Portuguese champions seven times during his tenure.
And he could be appointed as United’s transfer chief in the coming weeks, according to a report from Foot Mercato.
Henrique, 51, hails from Portugal and started work at Porto as a press assistant. After working his way up through the ranks and serving as sports director from 2005, he joined PSG in the same role in 2017.
(Image: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
He left back in June after two years as sporting director, with PSG having been crowned Ligue 1 champions for both seasons he was at the club.
Foot Mercato says he has been courted by Inter Milan and Shanghai SIPG since leaving PSG, but wanted to take a few months off to consider his options.
United have been searching for a sporting director to oversee their recruitment policy since the start of last season.
Lille director of football Luis Campos has also been linked with the role at Old Trafford, along with Red Bull head of sport Ralf Rangnick and former United players Edwin van der Sar and Rio Ferdinand.
(Image: REUTERS)
United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is keen to appoint somebody who can oversee the club’s transition away from recruiting big-name stars and towards developing young players.
Woodward has overseen the signings of big-money flops such as Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
But summer recruits Harry Maguire, Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were more representative of the direction in which the club wants to go in terms of recruitment.
This month, United missed out on top transfer target Erling Haaland, who scored a second-half hat-trick after coming off the bench for his debut for new club Borussia Dortmund, before firing in another two in his second match, when he again came on as a sub.
The sporting director’s job at United will be to ensure a coherent strategy to continue building for the future as the club aims to recapture its glory days.
