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Manchester United narrow director of football hunt after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appointment


The Norwegian wants new signings in place for pre-season (Picture: Getty)

Manchester United are increasingly likely to appoint a new director of football from within the club as they look to provide support for newly appointed manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Norwegian has signed a three-year contract worth around £7m per season – a monumental increase compared to his £400k-a-year salary at Molde – after overseeing 14 victories in his 19 matches in caretaker charge of the club.

But there is no time to rest for Ed Woodward, with The Times reporting that he wants a director of football installed before the end of the season.

After links with various European sporting directors, Woodward is set to promote internally (Getty)

Solskjaer’s predecessor, Jose Mourinho, often complained of the lack of structure at United, with the club’s transfer policy producing more duds than success stories in recent years.

The Portuguese had suggested, among others, Lille director Luis Campos, who built the Monaco team that made it to the Champions League semi-final two years ago, signing the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Bernardo Silva.

However, despite links to numerous European sporting directors, Woodward is now veering towards appointing from within, with head of football development John Murtagh and head of global scouting Marcel Bout the two names in the frame.

Both arrived under previous managers, with Murtagh – one of the senior figures at United’s academy overseeing youth contracts, scouts and development – the sole surviving off-field appointment from David Moyes’ brief reign.

Bout arrived at United with Van Gaal, having also worked with him at Bayern (Picture: Getty)

Bout, meanwhile, arrived under Louis van Gaal initially as an opposition scout but was put in charge of global scouting when Mourinho’s appointment necessitated a reshuffle.

Woodward hopes to have a director of football in place well before the summer, with Solskjaer keen to have his signings secured in time for pre-season; a new centre-back, right-sided winger, central midfielder and right-back are all on the agenda.





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