Former PSG man nears appointment as Man Utd sporting director

Antero Henrique is reported to be in advanced talks with Manchester United over becoming their first sporting director.

The former PSG man is well respected in the game having played a leading role in the negotiations to bring Neymar and Kylian Mbappe to the club, while prior to that he oversaw one of Porto’s most successful eras when, as sporting director there, the club won seven Primeira Liga titles.

And according to reports emanating from French publication Foot Mercato, Henrique could be soon stepping into a similar role at Old Trafford amid claims talks have been progressing over the last few weeks.

United have been in the hunt to appoint someone to the newly-created role since the start of last season, in a bid to take the heat of the often-criticised Ed Woodward.

Paul Mitchell of RB Leipzig, Ajax’s Edwin van der Sar, Monchi and Atletico Madrid chief Andrea Berta have all been mentioned as target over the last 18 months, but nothing has come off the speculation with United yet to make an appointment.

And while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said United were still looking for a suitable candidate over the summer, saying “Me and Ed (Woodward, executive vice-chairman) and Joel (Glazer, co-chairman), we are looking at how can this club be ran as smoothly and as well as possible” it was believed the club were no nearer an appointment.

However, claims of a deal for Henrique will give United fans plenty of optimism going forwards, with  executive vice-chairman Woodward looking to appoint somebody who can oversee the club’s transition away from recruiting big-name stars and towards developing young players.

Woodward, while little doubting the commercial role he plays for the club, has come in for widespread criticism of the field for overseeing the signings of big-money flop signings such as Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao and Bastian Schweinsteiger.

One of his biggest critics, Gary Neville, claimed last week that his record in charge of transfers was “unforgiveable”and that a wholesale review of the club needed undergoing.

“I can’t believe the investment that’s been put into the squad in the last five, six, seven years and you end up with that out on the pitch,” the former United defender said on the Gary Neville Podcast.

“I saw a statistic two weeks ago that United have the second-highest wage bill in the world. And that’s the squad they’ve got. It’s unforgivable. It really is.

 

I can’t change the ownership of Manchester United, no one can.

“But I’m struggling to understand why the ownership have persisted in trusting that management team to oversee the building of a Premier League title-winning team since Sir Alex Ferguson left.

“Because if you don’t lose your job for essentially overseeing that investment, that wage bill, and putting that team out on the pitch then I have to say something is really wrong.”

Neville added: “There’s real talent in that executive team, they can create revenue, they can do things within the football club that can help to be fair.

“But in terms of what the club needed to do for a number of years now is put the best in class football operators into that club and they’re not doing it.

“They’re not doing it and it’s a mess. They need to sort it out and quickly.”

Speaking of big-money signings, however, United appear to have made significant progress in their efforts to recruit Bruno Fernandes with a deal said to have now been agreed.