Despite some failings on the pitch, there are seismic Manchester United have massively failed off it. Constant disappointments in multiple transfer markers, notably the most recent summer transfer window has highlighted the club’s desperate need for a competent technical director. Whether it was the loss of Sir Alex Ferguson, who famously had a big influence on transfers or the loss of longtime former Chief Executive, David Gill. Gill famously aided in the transfers of Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic, Michael Carrick and David de Gea, amongst others.
Fundamentally, Manchester United need a technical director who is aware of how to be competent in the transfer window. Realistically, there are four main options as to who could fill the void left by Gill all those years ago. Luis Campos, Marcel Brands, Edwin Van der Sar and Paul Mitchell. These four men are the key candidates, all with relevant criteria and each can bring a different set of skills to the role.
Luis Campos
Arguably the leading candidate for the role is Luis Campos. Campos, who is currently under contract at Lille is yet to sign a new contract with the French side. Despite previously being linked with Manchester United during the Jose Mourinho years, it wasn’t to be. Campos is famous for unearthing over £500 million worth of talent. Within his portfolio are names including Radamel Falcao, Joao Moutinho, Fabinho, Anthony Martial, Dimitar Berbatov, Bernado Silva, Thomas Lemar, Kylian Mbappe, Nicolas Pepe and Benjamin Mendy.
There’s a clear focus for Campos on unearthing young talent, as can be seen with Martial and Mbappe in particular. This is in keeping with the culture of Manchester United, evident the infamous Class of ‘92. Manchester United are clearly failing in the transfer market and have previously, on numerous occasions made poor decisions in the market, notably Angel di Maria, Memphis Depay and Alexis Sanchez. If Campos was to come into the club, having been a scout at Real Madrid, he could certainly aid the club in gaining the signature of the right players.
He was the technical director at Monaco when they won the Ligue 1 title and made it to the Champions League final. This was their first league title since the 1999-2000 season and Campos had a huge part to play. One thing that Campos is particularly good at is making money from young talent. As of late, Manchester United have lost a lot of money by making the wrong signings that haven’t worked out. Four deals that Campos is famous for in particular are Mbappe, Pepe, Martial and Fabiniho. Mbappe came through the Monaco youth set up and when the time was right, Campos enabled the sale for £166 million to PSG. Pepe cost Lille just £9 million and was sold for a huge £72 million to Arsenal. Anthony Martial’s sale to Manchester United also made a profit in favour of Monaco of £53.6 million. More profit was made as a result of impressive work at the hands of Luis Campos when they sold Fabinho to Liverpool for £43.7 million having purchased him on a free transfer three months previously. Nicholas Pepe, despite his troubles at Arsenal, made Lille a lot of money. Breaking the Gunners transfer record, Pepe was sold for £72 million in 2019.
Campos has a proven track record of being successful, already holds a lot of the same cultural representations of Manchester United (a focus on youth) as well as a clear, strong transfer vision at any club he’s been at. He knows how to make a profit on players as well as bring in the right players for the club itself. These all add up to one thing, being the perfect candidate for Manchester United’s Technical Director.
Marcel Brands
Another man who has been linked to Old Trafford is Everton’s current Director of Football, Marcel Brands. Despite this, he has less than a year left on his contract and is yet to sign a new one. Although Greg O’Keeffe of The Athletic believes that Brands is likely to use United’s interest as leverage to sign a new contract at Goodison Park, there is a chance that the Red Devils could wrestle him away from Merseyside. The former AZ Alkmaar and PSV Eindhoven man has a proven track record.
Having spent eight years from 2010-2018 at PSV, he helped change the way they were viewed in Holland. It had been a number of years since PSV had challenged Ajax for the Eredivisie title. During his time at PSV, however, Brands helped the club to three league titles. He brought in names including Kevin Strootman, Georginio Wijnaldum and Luuk de Jong, all of whom helped PSV get back to their best.
Brands had clearly caught the eye of the Premier League, signing for Everton in 2018. The season prior to Brands introduction saw Everton finish eighth, have three managers (including a caretaker manager) and not make it out of the group stage of the Europa League. All this despite spending some big money on big names being made. In Brands first season at Everton, he aided in the signing of some huge signings who have had a big impact on Everton and who are still on show today. Richarlison, Yerry Mina, Lucas Digne and Bernard all put pen to paper, for a total of £80 million. He also oversaw the loan deals of Kurt Zouma and Andre Gomes. The season after, Brands was again instrumental in bringing in some big names in Alex Iwobi, previous season standout, Jonas Lossl, former title winner, Fabian Delph and highly-rated young prospect, Moise Kean. The 2019-2020 season also saw the introduction of one of the worlds best managers being brought into Everton in Carlo Ancelotti. This was huge for Everton as it showed a clear intention as to where they want to be as a club and Brands plays a huge part in this.
Arguably the greatest transfer window in Marcel Brands’ career came in the summer of 2020. He helped Everton gain the signature of some huge players. Securing the signing of Allan, James Rodriguez (on a free transfer), Abdoulaye Doucoure and Ben Godfrey saw Everton have a strong start to the 2020-2021 season. Brands has also been instrumental in seeing Dominic Calvert-Lewin find his best form, already notching 14 goals in all competition this season. If Brands doesn’t sign a new contract at Everton, Manchester United should certainly hold talks with him as he knows the English market and has a track record of getting the signature of established names for a cheap price.
Edwin Van der Sar
Edwin Van der Sar has strong knowledge of how Manchester United is ran. The Dutchman was the long-term first-choice goalkeeper under Sir Alex Ferguson from 2005 until his retirement in 2011. Van der Sar is currently the chief executive at his former club, Ajax. At the dutch club, there has always been a focus on nurturing youth. A rich history of bringing quality youth players and managing to sell them at a better price is something Ajax have become famous for. The Dutch club have also recently done business with Manchester United, with the transfer of Donny van de Beek.
When asked by ESPN whether he would ever return to Manchester United, the Dutchman did state, ‘You never know’. Saying that, he’s only been in the position at Ajax for four years and is unlikely to leave anytime soon. Van der Sar has little to no experience in dealing with big-money transfers as Ajax are not a club that tends to spend big. Would Van der Sar be right for United? Despite being endorsed by Paul Scholes, knowing how Manchester United is ran and has experience nurturing youth through a team, he doesn’t have enough experience to do the role yet. Manchester United are in dire need of a director of football who can come in and make an instant impact and it’s unlikely Van der Sar would, should he be given the job.
Paul Mitchell
One of the standout candidates is Manchester-born, Paul Mitchell. Mitchell is currently the sporting director at French side Monaco and was only appointed in June of 2020. Although this highlights that he’s unlikely to leave anytime soon, there are a number of factors that could pull Mitchell to Manchester.
Firstly, Mitchell has close ties to the man Manchester United are lining up to become their next manager, Mauricio Mochettino. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, it’s believed, is on borrowed time. Despite the boards supposed backing and the fact that Ole has a long term plan, it appears that the Norwegians stay may not be extended much longer. Paul Mitchell has constantly been a part of Pochettino’s backroom staff, highlighting that he could be the man for the job should Pochettino come to Old Trafford.
Twice, Mitchell has been a part of Pochettino’s backroom staff so there is certainly a bond between the two men. Mitchell was Southampton’s director of recruitment from 2012-2014 and then moved to Tottenham to do the same role coinciding with when Pochetinno moved clubs. He helped Spurs bring in names including Dele Alli, Son Heung Min and Toby Alderweireld, amongst others. He’s also credited with recruiting Sadio Mane and Dusan Tadic when he was at Southampton. This would suggest that he has a clear eye for talent.
Mitchell also is said to prefer recruiting youth over experienced players, which, in recent years is something that Manchester United have drifted away from. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edison Cavani have been signings in the twilight of their careers who have signed for Manchester United in recently. Although their talent is undeniable, they’re far from a look to the future of the club and are both seen as a ‘quick fix’. With Mitchell’s tendency to promote youth, it could take steps towards getting back to what is in Manchester United’s DNA, ‘If Mitchell is confident of a promising prospect coming through a club’s academy, he won’t sign an established player to potentially block their route to the first team’.
Mitchell is certainly a strong candidate for the role of director of football at Manchester United, especially if Pochettino becomes manager in the red half of Manchester. After just six months in his role at Monaco, it may be a few years until we see Mitchell in Manchester, however.
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