If you needed an explanation as to why Sir Jim Ratcliffe appears to be prioritising the appointment of a top-tier director of football at Manchester United, look no further than the report issued by German publication BILD on Thursday.
Manchester United, they say, are interested in Castello Lukeba. So far, so sensible. The Red Devils are scouring the market for talented young centre-halves and, with Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans getting no younger, few United fans would disagree that defensive reinforcements are required.
But, BILD add, United’s interest in Lukeba precedes his £28 million move to Germany. They scouted him when he was at Lyon last season and, after deciding against making a bid over the summer, will now be quoted a far larger fee by a Leipzig side who have perfected the buy-(relatively) low, sell-high model.
Manchester United need a director of football
This has been a source of frustration amongst United supporters – and a fair few coaches – for a while now. A galling, baffling reluctance to take a punt on talented youngsters such as Lukeba, only to then go back in for that very same target when their price-tag has been massively inflated later down the line.
How much would Rasmus Hojlund have cost, for instance, had United cut out the middleman and bought him from Sturm Graz in 2022. Far less than the initial £63 million they forked over to Atalanta, certainly. You could make similar arguments about the likes of Harry Maguire, Antony and numerous other overpriced players who arrived at Old Trafford post Sir Alex Ferguson.
One-time interim boss Ralf Rangnick, meanwhile, confirmed that the club’s board had vetoed his recommended moves for Luis Diaz, now at Liverpool, Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic, and Julian Alvarez, a treble-winner and World champion with Manchester City and Argentina (Goal). Moises Caicedo, Eduardo Camavinga, Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland are among those who also slipped through the grasp.
Ratcliffe planning big changes
Ever since Ed Woodward’s rise to prominence under the despised Glazer family, United have been a club hamstrung by a lack of genuine expertise in the footballing department. Particularly with regards to recruitment.
It is not beyond the realms of possibility that, if Paul Mitchell (currently the favourite to be installed as United’s director of football) had moved to Old Trafford a few years back, Alvarez, Haaland, Camavinga and Bellingham would all currently be wearing red.
Or, for that matter, that Lukeba would have joined from Lyon last summer, for a fraction of the fee Leipzig will likely demand from Man United in 2024.
The good news is that, with Ratcliffe’s revolution beginning apace, United are a club changing. A club modernising. And an elite director of football and a proven spotter of talent like Mitchell could be the most transformative addition Manchester United have made in many a year, cutting out the middlemen, preventing the need for eye-watering outlays, and making Old Trafford a destination for the world’s next generation of superstars once again.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/RIbJWlP