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Manchester United announced the official departure of John Murtough as the club’s football director this week.
The news was met positively by United fans after his disastrous spell in the role, with many feeling he was never sufficiently qualified to have been entrusted with it in the first place.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS consortium have certainly wasted no time in making changes behind the scenes at Old Trafford, as they look to build a best in class sporting structure at the club.
However, as reported by the Manchester Evening News, INEOS have given the responsibility of recruitment plans for the summer to an existing member of the backroom team, while they wait for these new targets to arrive.
Matt Hargreaves will take control of transfer plans following the departure of Murtough and he will be in for a busy few months, given the obvious need for United to improve the playing squad.
Hargreaves, the director of player negotiations, was heavily involved in United’s discussions for signings last summer having effectively replaced Matt Judge, who left in 2022.
However, despite moving into the role there are still doubts over Hargreaves long-term future, with INEOS close to appointing Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox in key positions.
Ashworth is expected to take the role of Director of Football and Wilcox as Technical Director in the coming months. Both will be heavily involved in the clubs transfer strategy as and when the deals are concluded.
However, neither are likely to be in place before the end of the season and Hargreaves will be in control of proceedings until then.
One pitch, Erik ten Hag will be desperate for a strong end to the season after a woeful campaign to date has left them needing a miracle to finish in the top four of the Premier League.
The FA Cup represents the only chance for the Dutchman to salvage something from a season that has left him fighting for his future at Old Trafford.
United face Coventry City in the semi-final of the competition on April 21, with Chelsea or Manchester City lying in wait in the final.
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