Man Utd eye swoop for Wolves chief to solve familiar problem; Chelsea also in pursuit

Man Utd and Chelsea are hoping to capture Wolves’ head of scouting and recruitment Matt Hobbs, according to a report.

Man Utd spent big in the summer transfer window to bring in five players on permanent deals. Casemiro, Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez and Antony all arrived at Old Trafford. Martin Dubravka is also on a season-long loan at Man Utd from Newcastle.

The most expensive new arrival was Antony. He cost £86million when joining from Ajax, which is a record sale for a Dutch club.

Chelsea, meanwhile, had the most costly transfer window in the Premier League, spending a reported £278m on eight senior players.

Wesley Fofana was the most expensive of these stars, as he joined the Blues in a £75m deal from Leicester. Chelsea also parted with £60m to land Marc Cucurella from Brighton.

Chelsea are searching for a new sporting director to replace Marina Granovskaia. Todd Boehly has been acting as an interim sporting director since her departure, though he knows a permanent replacement needs to be found.

As per the Evening Standard, Chelsea aim to employ their new chief before the World Cup, which begins on November 20.

Amid Boehly’s major changes to the club’s hierarchy, they are preparing a move for Wolves’ Hobbs, according to Football Insider.

It’s unclear whether they want to give him the sporting director role, or if Hobbs would continue his scouting and recruitment job when joining Chelsea.

Man Utd rival Chelsea for Wolves man

Boehly is facing competition from Man Utd for Hobb’s services. The report claims the two Premier League giants are hoping to lure him away from Wolves.

And a deal ‘could be agreed within weeks’, although it’s unknown who is the frontrunner at this point.

Hobbs has worked as a Head of Emerging Talent, Head of Academy Recruitment and Chief Scout since joining Wolves in summer 2015. He has been in his current role since February.

Man Utd recently had a successful transfer window, with Eriksen, Antony and Malacia all looking like good buys. However, they have been criticised in the past for bringing in players who went on to be underwhelming.

Plus, the Red Devils often overpay on players. It could be argued they did this when landing Antony and Martinez.

Bringing in Hobbs, who is highly rated at Wolves, should help to improve the club in these areas. He won’t be able to solve all of their problems, however, and Man Utd may need to make a few more changes before they can compete with Liverpool or Man City’s level of recruitment.

It is a great choice for Hobbs to have. He can join Man Utd and help them with their project under Erik ten Hag. Or, he could aid Boehly in Chelsea’s new era.

And Hobbs should have plenty of money to play with, should he go to Manchester or west London. Man Utd and Chelsea have proven themselves to be two of the biggest spenders in world football over the past few years.

Meanwhile, a Barcelona player is on the verge of a big decision amid Man Utd and Liverpool pushing to land him.