Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may have only just got his feet under the desk at Old Trafford but already plans are being put in place to bring a permanent big name manager to the club in summer. Having got the temporary manager in, the next step for United in their restructuring of the club is to bring in a Director of Football, to assist the manager with transfers and finances, a role that had been done successfully by the likes of Daniel Levy at Spurs.
Now United are looking to do the same thing after seeing the disastrous investments that Jose Mourinho made in the transfer market. Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba are all Mourinho signings who are earning big money at the club and they have all failed to live up to the money they are earning.
Now United could be set to take inspiration from their cross-city rivals and follow Manchester City’s lead of appointing a Director of Football early in the season to pave the way for a new manager who they are well-connected to, to come and join the club in summer.
City brought in Txiki Begiristain, the director of football from 2003-2010 at Barcelona. He was the man who worked incredibly closely with Pep Guardiola during his time at Barca and was pivotal in the transfers that lead to Barca having one of the greatest teams we have seen in the modern era.
Now United could do something similar as they assess Paul Mitchell’s credentials for this big job. Mitchell may not be a household name but he started out as the Head of Recruitment at MK Dons. He then moved to Southampton in the Championship before they got promoted to the Premier League in 2012, with some smart signings.
Following his success at Southampton alongside Mauricio Pochettino, the manager who enjoyed working with him so much he brought him to Tottenham a few months after he moved from the south coast to North London.
Key players who Mitchell helped to bring to Spurs along with Pochettino are big names such as Dele Alli, Kieran Trippier and Toby Alderweireld. Those three are just a handful of the talent he is able to pluck out and United fans would love to see a man with the transfer nous that he has come into the club.
Mitchell’s appointment as Director of Football now looks a real possibility as United have been considering him as a candidate for several months. If he does come in, it paves the way for Mauricio Pochettino to down tools at Tottenham and head up to Manchester in the summer. If we do see Paul Mitchell appointed as the new Director of Football at United then the fans can get seriously excited about the possibility of Pochettino managing their side next season.
