Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan is backing Dougie Freedman to make the move to Manchester United while highlighting the talent he has brought to the Premier League.
According to reports, Manchester United’s pursuit of a bonafide recruitment specialist is leading them in the direction of a 49-year-old Glaswegian who was responsible for bringing the likes of Eberechi Eze, Cheick Doucoure, Ebere Eze, Marc Guehi and Michael Olise to Palace long before they became household names in English football.
It is that eye for talent – and that eye for a bargain – that will appeal to Ineos, Sir Jim Ratcliffe looking for a ‘best-in-class’ transfer market expert to join Sir Dave Brailsford, Jean-Claude Blanc, Omar Berrada and the seemingly incoming Dan Ashworth in an all-new behind-the-scenes structure at Old Trafford.
Freedman may lack the glamour and the glitz of some of the other names linked with United. Paolo Maldini, Paul Mitchell and ex-Liverpool chief Julian Ward, to name but three.
But what the former Scotland international may lack in elite-level experience, Jordan insists that he more than makes up for elsewhere.
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“I can see him at Man United, and I am pretty sure they are interested,” Jordan, who spent a decade in charge at Selhurst Park, tells talkSPORT (6 March, 10am). “Dougie is a good thinker, a good spotter of talent, and a good negotiator.
“I have known Dougie at 25 years now, and he’s someone that I’m very fond of. He is capable in the position he is in.”
Freedman had a brief spell as Crystal Palace manager over a decade ago. And while management wasn’t for him, Jordan points out that it was his expertise in the transfer market which paved the way for the club’s return to the Premier League under Ian Holloway in 2013.
“The players who got promotion were his team. Players he recruited like Yannick Bolasie and Mile Jedinak,” Jordan adds.
“I think the space he’s in now – where he can think clearly and make decisions based on recruitment (as Palace’s sporting director) – is a great space for Dougie. I wouldn’t be surprised (to see him at United). It’s a good fit and could be distinctly likely to happen.”
‘Likely to happen’
Ashworth, Man United’s number one pick for the technical director role, is likely to oversee the club in it’s entirety. Freedman, should he get the nod over Ward and co, will be handed a more specialised recruitment role. It may be no coincidence that two of his Palace favourites – Guehi and Olise – have already been linked with summer moves to Manchester.
“I think they are building. People will look and think; ‘Dougie to United?’. But you could say the same about Dan Ashworth,” Jordan adds, Ashworth building his reputation with the likes of West Brom and Brighton before ending up at Newcastle in 2022.
“Players Palace have recruited, such as Eze and players like that, are players Dougie signed. He works well in teams and he is a very clever operator. He is not controversial and doesn’t get in people’s faces.
“He’s got plenty of steel, don’t worry about that. I think, if he gets the opportunity, he is well worthy of it.”
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Jordan, while yet to be wholly convinced by that Ineos takeover, is impressed by the way Ratcliffe and co have set about fixing what he sees as a major achilles heel.
“(Freedman and Berrada are) a good two (appointments),” the former chairman argues. They are changing the direction of travel by recruiting people (for) the weakest area of Man United. Its evident the problem is recruitment.
“Ashworth seems to be operating at a very high level. Each step he’s taken, he’s taken it well. Dougie Freedman is a sensible thinker.
“Brailsford, for me, is the one I’d be interested to see. A lot is made of his theory of marginal gains, and we will see how it translates.”
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