Manchester United are ‘strongly considering’ two candidates for the role of technical director as the club look to restructure the hierarchy at Old Trafford.
The Premier League side long been linked with appointing a technical director and are said to have held negotiations with potential candidates as they seek to fill the role, the club viewing the appointment as an important step in their plans for progress in the coming seasons.
According to the Independent, United have narrowed their search down to either Antero Henrique or Ralph Rangnick, holding talks with the duo who have both held similar positions at European counterparts.
The club are believed to have already held ‘advanced talks’ with Henrique, who left his role as sporting director of Paris Saint-Germain last summer. Henrique previously spent 26 years at Porto, working his way from an administrative role in the early nineties to a position as vice-chairman in 2010.
During his time with the Portuguese side he would oversee player recruitment and the sales of several stars for significant profits, including deals that saw Anderson join Manchester United, Radamel Falcao sign for Atletico Madrid and both Danilo and Pepe move to Real Madrid.
Having moved to PSG he would be part of the club’s hierarchy that would embark on a lavish spend, overseeing record-breaking moves to bring both Kylian Mbappe and Neymar to the French capital under the Ligue 1 side’s Qatari owners.
Despite United having held advanced negotiations with Henrique, several of the club’s board members are believed to prefer a move for Rangnick, the 61-year-old currently working as Red Bulls’ Head of Sport after spells working for company-owned clubs Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig.
During his time working for Red Bull, the German has developed a reputation for scouting and nurturing young talent, the likes of Liverpool’s Sadio Mane and Naby Keita and Borussia Dortmund sensation Erling Haaland having passed through the systems of those sides in recent years.
Regardless of the club’s final decision on a technical director, however, much-maligned executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and Matt Judge are still expected to play influential roles in player recruitment for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.
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