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Director of football a "red herring" in Man United's Pochettino chase

In the short term at least, we know Manchester United's immediate future will see 1999 hero Ole G...



Director of football a
Soccer

Director of football a "red herring" in Man United's Pochettino chase

In the short term at least, we know Manchester United's immediate future will see 1999 hero Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in charge until the end of the season.

But beyond that, the noises suggest Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is being sought as a long-term replacement.

He would be joining a re-structuring that would also see the club bring in a director of football. However, there is no guarantee that Pochettino would be in favour of that.

But that is somewhat of a "red herring" according to Matt Hughes of The Times of London.

"I think the director of football thing is a slight red herring in this," he said.

"The most important appointment for Manchester United is the manager. They have to get that right and in getting that right, they will compromise on the director of football."

Different Clubs

"They will not appoint a man over the manager's head that he's not happy to work with. Pochettino's worked with directors of football before at Southampton and at Tottenham.

"But Tottenham and Man United are different clubs. Daniel Levy is de facto technical director [at Tottenham]. He runs that club. Ed Woodward has tacitly acknowledged that he does not have those skills and he feels that they need more help in the transfer market. I don't think that will be a stumbling block to recruiting Pochettino."

"Ed Woodward has tacitly acknowledged that he does not have those skills"

Hughes also added that United are preparing an offer for not only Pochettino but also his back-room Spurs team. And he also backed the idea that the Argentine is the No 1 candidate to permanently replace Jose Mourinho.

"These situations are fluid but that is my understanding," said Hughes.

"People around United were certainly not attempting to play that down yesterday which is unusual in itself."

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Director Of Football Football Manchester United Mauricio Pochettino Off The Ball Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Soccer Tottenham