Man Utd put Paul Mitchell ‘top of the list’ to replace John Murtough as director of football
Former Tottenham head of recruitment Paul Mitchell is “top of the list” to be made sporting director at Manchester United by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, putting the position of current football director John Murtough at serious risk.
The club have been happy with the role Murtough and new chief executive Richard Arnold have played since Ed Woodward’s departure early last year, even though United are languishing in 10th in the Premier League table and face an uphill battle to get out of a very navigable Champions League group.
Ratcliffe, however, was less than impressed when he visited Old Trafford earlier this year as part of the club’s attempts to flaunt the sleeping giant to potential suitors.
The Manchester-born billionaire prides himself on taking over failing businesses and turning them round, but he does so using his people, his way.
As a result, i understands Mitchell, who has just left his role at Monaco, where he lived close to Ratcliffe and “operated in the same circles”, is a frontrunner to become sporting director at United given his previous impressive track record.
Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth and former Liverpool supremo Michael Edwards have been also mentioned as candidates but Murtough and Arnold believe they can still convince Ratcliffe they are capable of fronting this new dawn in Manchester.
Ratcliffe is not expected to make sweeping changes straight away, insiders say, and will undertake some form of audit of the operations should he be sworn in.
A lengthy injury list and off-field problems have hampered Murtough and Arnold in their attempts to turn United’s fortunes round, but with big-money signings continuing to flounder and criticisms over the club’s handling of Mason Greenwood proving hard to shift, the excuses are wearing thin.
Ratcliffe is going to need some convincing, especially when has someone very capable in mind to do the job instead.
Born eight miles east of Manchester city centre in Stalybridge, Mitchell has moved back to the area after leaving his post as Monaco sporting director in March.
After retiring from playing in the lower leagues, Mitchell got his big break when named MK Dons head of recruitment in 2010, before joining Southampton in a similar role.
He helped Mauricio Pochettino make his way in England, bringing Sadio Mane, Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic to the south coast.
He went with Pochettino to Spurs, where he continued his impressive work in the transfer market, acquiring Dele Alli, Son Heung-min, Kieran Trippier and Toby Alderweireld, before moving to RB Leipzig, adding current Chelsea striker Christopher Nkunku and Wolves firebrand Matheus Cunha to his list of talents unearthed.
Mitchell’s greatest hits are at odds with United’s record in the transfer market, with arguably only Bruno Fernandes justifying the outlay in the past decade.
Senior figures at the club preferred Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani’s Qatari visiting party after they gushed at the prospect of running such a behemoth of the footballing world, while Ratcliffe told them, in no uncertain terms, what he thought of their dismal record in the transfer market.
With Sheikh Jassim out of the running, leaving Ratcliffe unchallenged in his attempts to take a 25 per cent stake in the club, one set to be approved by the United board this week, attention is now turning to how the 70-year-old will go about his business.
As i reported on Monday, Ratcliffe intends to take a “hands-on” approach and will be permitted to assume control of the football side of the club, with the current owners, the Glazer family, retaining the commercial arm.
Keeping the much-maligned Glazers on in any capacity is not going to win over disgruntled supporters, but overseeing long-awaited improvement on the pitch would quieten unrest.
The Premier League dream looks like it is over for Sheikh Jassim, however, as contrary to reports, Middle East sources have told i that he will not be investing in Liverpool, Tottenham or any other English side.
i understands the Qatari banker got very emotionally attached to the prospect of taking over at United, the club he supports, even if he was not willing to pay a “ridiculous” price for them.
The prospect of a full takeover also added to the appeal. That would not be possible at Liverpool after their recent minority investment from Dynasty Equity, with Spurs not having the same pull as United ever did.
