Things are really moving quickly at Man United under the ownership of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and The Athletic’s David Ornstein, has noted yet another potential move that could be on the cards for the Red Devils.
Though United fans were clearly unhappy at the fact that there wasn’t a full buyout of the Glazer family, Sir Jim has certainly hit all of the right notes since his partial takeover was signed and sealed.
Getting best-in-class in all areas of the business appears to be his modus operandi, with Southampton’s Jason Wilcox being targeted as performance director, working alongside Dan Ashworth if United can quickly sort out the former Newcastle man’s pay-off.
Omar Berrada has already been secured as the new chief executive, and the INEOS owner doesn’t seem as if he’s stopping with the beefing up of the executive level of the football side.
David Ornstein understands that Man United will hire another executive
In a Q&A with subscribers to The Athletic (subscription required), the ever-reliable Ornstein hinted at another hire at senior level.
‘Ideally Man Utd would get Ashworth in first and then Wilcox, as the plan is for Wilcox to work under Ashworth,’ he wrote.
‘But Ashworth is a more complicated situation than Wilcox. So I think Man Utd will probably give the Ashworth situation a bit longer and see if an agreement can be reached with Newcastle sooner rather than later, but if that doesn’t happen then perhaps they will bring Wilcox in sooner and Ashworth follows later.
‘We understand another key role after that has been on the agenda – and naturally the club will have candidates in mind – but I don’t know of an appointment being close.’
As he hurtle towards the end of the season, it would be entirely appropriate for Sir Jim to want to tie up any lose ends in order that the right people are in place well ahead of the summer transfer window.
He will have already seen with the Ashworth saga, however, that not everything is going to run smoothly.
