Man Utd make classy appointment in significant indicator over Ruben Amorim future

Manchester United are reported to have named Christopher Vivell as the club’s director of recruitment on a permanent basis in a move that has seen the German accept a drastically reduced wage and has also seen more claims made about the man he succeeds, Dan Ashworth.

The Red Devils parted ways with Dan Ashworth after just five months in his role as the Manchester United sporting director, having failed to impress Sir Jim Ratcliffe with his summer transfer business. Having arrived in the summer at a cost of £5m in compensation to Newcastle, Ashworth spent some £180m on five new players over the summer window, before being shown the door in December, with his exit costing the club some £4.1m in compensation.

Now the club has re-structured their recruitment team behind the scenes and have now confirmed the appointment of former Chelsea man Vivell on what has been described as a multi-year contract.

Reporting to technical director, Jason Wilcox, The Athletic writes that the 38-year-old will oversee the global recruitment operation and scouting structure at Old Trafford, as well as being placed in charge of emerging talent.

But with the club this week announcing a number of job cuts, including the closure of their canteen, Vivell has agreed to take a pay-cut in order to secure his long-term appointment at the club.

However, the move is understood to have been welcomed by Amorim, who is known to be a big admirer of the German’s work and was very much in support of him getting the role permanently.

And having been the man responsible for launching the careers of the likes of Erling Haaland, Josko Gvardiol, Dominik Szoboszlai and Benjamin Sesko, Amorim and United will hope he can uncover similar gems in the years to come.

Having already been at Old Trafford for a year, Vivell is believed to have already exerted his influence by pushing for a shift towards younger talent, with the likes of top prospects Chido Obi, Sekou Kone and Diego Leon added to their youth set-up, while big money has also been shelled out on the likes of Leny Yoro and Patrick Dorgu.

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Revealed: Where it all went wrong for Dan Ashworth

United will hope the appointment of Vivell on a permanent basis will ensure a more solid foundation behind the scenes with plenty having gone wrong during Ashworth’s brief spell in charge.

A report earlier this month from ESPN journalist Mark Ogden explained why he was never the right appointment for what United wanted to achieve and having also named Matthijs de Ligt as the summer signing that Ratcliffe and INEOS bosses both disagreed with their former sporting director about.

“There are two ways to look at the Ashworth situation, I mean, my view is that they hired the wrong guy for the wrong job,” Ogden said on ESPN’s X page.

“Dan Ashworth is known for building the structure of a club, building behind the scenes and getting the right people in place. What he isn’t is a sporting director. He’s not a guy who will pick up the phone to people in Spain, Italy, Germany, Turkey to find a player or to offload a player.

“If you want somebody like that, you go for Aston Villa’s Monchi; he’s somebody who has a real track record of doing it over the years. It’s a different role.”

Turning attention to De Ligt, Ogden added: “The club didn’t want Matthijs de Ligt. He was a signing that was driven through by Ten Hag, and despite the fact they felt well-stocked with centre-halves, Ashworth felt that because they’d just given Ten Hag a new contract, they have to show they have faith in him by signing a player he wanted. So you can say that was a weakness on Dan Ashworth’s part.”

Now more details have emerged from The Athletic about Ashworth’s exit and they claim he did not get along with Ratcliffe with some of his suggestions even “irritating” the British billionaire.

That buildup of all those little disagreements eventually snowballed into his parting of ways, which was by mutual consent, but did leave INEOS in something of an embarrassing situation.

Latest Man Utd transfer news: Nunez signing tipped; Casemiro revelation

Meanwhile, United are being backed to launch a shock move to bring Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez to Old Trafford this summer after a report revealed what Reds boss Arne Slot has found unacceptable from the Uruguayan on more than one occasion.

United and Manchester City, meanwhile, have both been credited with an interest in AC Milan winger Rafael Leao, amid claims the Portugal international can leave the San Siro for a reduced fee this summer.

And finally, our transfer insider Rudy Galetti has uncovered reasons why Casemiro is increasingly likely to stay at United until 2026 when his £350,000-per-week contract expires, in news that will not go down well with Ratcliffe.

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