Source:Thepeoplesperson
5 As the prospect of appointing Dan Ashworth becomes more and more realistic, it has allowed INEOS to settle on an executive structure they wanted all along.
Miguel Delaney of The Independent reports that with Ashworth's appointment, there will be a rejig to the role of a Director of Football.
Previously, this role was going to be split into two- Technical Director + Head of Recruitment.
Both roles were going to work side-by-side and work towards getting the deals for the club through the line, in or out.
However, with INEOS getting their priority target of Ashworth, albeit not a unanimous choice, it has allowed them to go back to the model they envisioned for the club.
In that model, the Director of Football will be the head of the table, with the recruitment specialist reporting to him, instead of working alongside him.
This reduction of powers in the role has led to marquee candidates like Paul Mitchell being ruled out of the running as they are unlikely to agree to this structure, being DoFs themselves.
It partly explains United's chase for Jason Wilcox, who is also a Director of Football but at Southampton.
Therefore, feasibly, he could look at the Head of Recruitment role at Old Trafford as an upgrade in terms of overall club prestige and standing.
In light of developments surrounding Ashworth, the head of recruitment then remains the last role to be fulfilled.
INEOS has prioritised hiring from the top down so the people coming in come with the knowledge of who they will be working under, instead of the other way around, as has been with the scattergun Glazer approach.
If United manage to snag Wilcox from the Saints, then it could be their executive structure all sorted out. Omar Berrada as the CEO, Dan Ashworth as the DoF, Jason Wilcox as the Head of Recruitment, with Sir Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc as the executives with the seat on the board.
Quite an upgrade from the Richard Arnold-John Murtough-Darren Fletcher triumvirate!
