Out-of-work sporting director now ‘ready’ to join Manchester United

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Paul Mitchell is ready to make the move to Manchester United but there are some details still to be thrashed out.

Manchester United seem to be just days away from the start of a new era.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is on the verge of purchasing a 25% stake in United, paying around £1.25billion according to BBC Sport.

Ratcliffe is expected to seize control of football operations once that deal is done, and the changes have already started.

CEO Richard Arnold will be leaving the club at the end of the year with more comings and goings expected in the next few months. 

Paul Mitchell ready for Manchester United move

Ratcliffe is expected to bring in a sporting director, hopefully bringing a coherent transfer strategy at long last.

One of the key names in the mix has been Paul Mitchell, who left his post as Monaco’s sporting director earlier this year.

Foot Mercato reporter Santi Aouna now claims that Mitchell is ‘ready to sign’ with United.

There are ’some details’ still to be finalised, but Mitchell seemingly believes that an Old Trafford move is in the pipeline.

Reports in October suggested that Staybridge-born Mitchell had already moved back to the North West after leaving Monaco, potentially teeing up a United move.

Aouna adds that Jean-Claude Blanc – formerly of Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus – is poised to replace Arnold as CEO.

This would be a strong start to the Ratcliffe era, adding two specialists in their fields having already worked around important European clubs in the past.

Who else could rival Mitchell?

It’s unclear just what the ‘details’ are when it comes to Mitchell’s potential United move but there are other names in the running.

Aouna’s report claims that United have also spoken to Michael Edwards, the former sporting director at Liverpool.

Edwards inspired years of success at Anfield and would be an enormous capture for United, but that move seems a little unlikely.

Then there is Dougie Freedman with reports over the weekend indicating that Ratcliffe and Sir David Brailsford would be keen to land the Crystal Palace man.

We would argue that Mitchell’s experience at Tottenham, RB Leipzig and Monaco makes him more suited for the United role than Freedman, who has only been with Palace.

Mitchell seems like the most realistic appointment of the names mentioned, and these latest claims from France suggest that a deal could be done.