Sir Jim Ratcliffe will ask for guidance from legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson for guidance on regarding boardroom appointments, according to The Telegraph.
Ratcliffe is expected to finally complete a purchase over a 25% takeover stake in the Old Trafford club, as the long-winded saga draws to a close. It has been one year since The Glazers first announced that they were open to discussing a prospective sale of the club.
This news follows on from CEO Richard Arnold’s decision to step down ahead of the takeover, as Ratcliffe looks to bring in people from his own clique through the doors. One name that has already been linked is Jean-Claud Blanc, and more names will follow suit in being linked to United in coming weeks.
A few names who have been rumoured in different roles are Sir Dave Brailsford, Paul Mitchell and Dougie Freedman. The latter would benefit from Sir Alex’s endorsement if the advice is followed as recommended by the legendary manager. Not only the director of football role, but discussions over Erik Ten Hag are likely to take place to determine whether he is the right man for the job – despite United’s worst start to a season since 1962.
Red Devil Armada’s verdict:
Sir Alex has not made any direct decisions that have been major besides two: the appointment of David Moyes and playing a role in bringing back Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford. Both of those decisions ended sourly, so perhaps it will be third time lucky. Ferguson is an admirer of Ten Hag, so I would expect the Dutchman to stay at the head of the table. However, the structural process behind the scenes – which has involved Ten Hag freely signing players who have had some sort of links to Eredivise – will have a restructure in the way that football profiles are scouted and bought by the club.