Jamie Carragher has praised Dougie Freedman but may have also highlighted why some will question a potential move to Manchester United.
United will be looking to appoint a sporting director this summer with Ineos taking the reins and ultimately looking to revamp the club.
A surprise name was linked with the job in November as Crystal Palace’s Dougie Freedman was rumoured to be a key target.
It was even claimed that Sir Alex Ferguson wants United to move for Freedman as he is a keen admirer of his fellow Scot.
The backing of Ferguson is a major compliment to Freedman and his work at Palace, and he has now been praised by Jamie Carragher too.
Jamie Carragher hails Manchester United-linked Dougie Freedman
Speaking on Sky Sports on Monday night (12/02/2024, 8:08pm), Carragher paid tribute to Freedman and his work as Palace’s sporting director.
Palace fans have been left frustrated of late and fans angrily demonstrated against Brighton and Hove Albion as they are concerned about the direction of the club.
Carragher believes that Palace’s consolidation as a Premier League club over the last 10 years has been impressive but can understand the frustration of fans who want a bit more.
The former Liverpool defender feels that Freedman has done a ‘great job’ at Palace, highlighting his work in terms of signing players from the lower leagues.
“Steve Parish, Mark Bright, obviously Dougie Freedman who actually I think does a great job for them in the background… you see the frustration of the supporters and I can actually understand why that frustration is there, even though you can look at the great job Steve Parish and Dougie Freedman have done at times,” said Carragher.
“There’s not a lot wrong with Palace over a 10-year period, that is a great job for Crystal Palace, for Steve Parish and I mentioned Dougie Freedman before, I think he does a great job of plucking players from the lower divisions,” he added.
Carragher comments highlight problem with Freedman to United
Our concern with appointing Freedman is that a lot of his best deals have surrounded signing EFL talents.
Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze fit that bill and it looks like latest addition Adam Wharton is primed to become a Premier League star.
While we would like to see United moving for top EFL talents, the reality is that United often aim higher and will require a sporting director to go for major signings.
Few United fans would now turn their noses up at Olise and Eze, but that’s because they have developed at Palace and are now ready to move on.
Moving straight to United is a completely different proposition and the likes of Olise and Eze may not be the players they are today if they had moved straight from the EFL to Old Trafford.
That makes us question Freedman’s suitability for the role as his expertise seems to be in markets and areas where United don’t shop as often.
Maybe Freedman could grow into a bigger job, perhaps Ineos will want more EFL talents to join United, but we would much prefer somebody like ex-Bayern Munich man Marco Neppe given his blend of signing top youngsters and established stars for a major European force.
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