Manchester United will reportedly consider trying to entice Michael Edwards back into football when Sir Jim Ratcliffe completes his 25 per cent purchase of the club in a bitter blow to rivals Liverpool. Ratcliffe held off competition from Sheikh Jassim’s Qatari group and changed his bid for a minority stake to reach an agreement with the Glazers last month.
The deal still has to be ratified with ongoing negotiations on the new ownership structure’s intricacies. But Ratcliffe’s INEOS group are expected to take full control of the sporting side and won’t need to answer to the Glazers.
Changes are already taking place behind the scenes with CEO Richard Arnold announcing he will be stepping down at the end of the year. However, one of Ratcliffe’s biggest goals appears to be bringing in a recognised sporting director to bring United in line with their European rivals.
The Red Devils have bucked the trend of hiring a specialised director of football, while the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle have all benefitted from having someone in place. Ratcliffe seemingly wants to take United down a similar route and the Independent claim former Liverpool chief Edwards is near the top of his wishlist.
Paul Mitchell and Dougie Freedman are also named as potential options the British billionaire is considering. However, the report adds that United may face a battle in trying to convince Edwards of a return to a sporting director role.
Edwards earned high praise for his work at Liverpool with Jurgen Klopp, spending 10 years at Anfield and helping them return to the peak of English football. He was responsible for signing players such as Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Alisson, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Andrew Robertson while also conducting contract negotiations to keep those superstars at the club and out of the clutches of their rivals.
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Liverpool have gone through two sporting directors since Edwards’ exit with Jorg Schmadtke replacing Julian Ward at the end of last season. And seeing United potentially steal the very man that helped oversee Liverpool’s transformation under Klopp would be a sucker punch to the red side of Merseyside.
Edwards made his much-anticipated return to sport by teaming up with former Liverpool colleague Ian Graham. The pair are working together at Ludonautics, an advisory service launched by Graham.
But his role with the company doesn’t prevent him from taking permanent employment elsewhere, opening the door for a potential return as a sporting director elsewhere.
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