Sam Allardyce gives verdict on Manchester United’s biggest worry

Sam Allardyce believes Manchester United’s biggest worry right now is their infrastructure.

The former Premier League manager was joined by John O’Shea on the latest No Tippy Tappy Football podcast to discuss United’s upcoming FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City.

They also weighed in on the recruitment issues that exist at Old Trafford, with Allardyce describing it as his main worry for United.

Allardyce said: “The biggest worry at United is the infrastructure behind the scenes, particularly in terms of recruitment. If a club gets their recruitment right and keeps it the same no matter who comes in, it’s great for the next head coach who can have their own influence on it and they know it’s good enough. Then you start getting the right players in that earn the reputation they get, the money they’re given and effectively become more valuable assets to the club.

“Whenever somebody wants to overpay, you accept that you’re going to lose them but you’re always after at least 20% more than your valuation. Even Sir Alex Ferguson let Cristiano Ronaldo go for £80million and nobody thought that would happen, but it did. At the time, that price was mega. That is something that Man United need to achieve before they look at getting rid of the coach.”

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his team have promised to bring the best in class to United as he plans to upgrade the recruitment team. The club is on course to appoint Jason Wilcox as their new technical director.

Wilcox is also believed to be joined by Dan Ashworth once Newcastle remove their sporting director from gardening leave. They will both join Omar Berrada as part of the shake-up.

If Ashworth doesn’t join United before the transfer window opens, Wilcox and Berrada will be expected to lead the recruitment strategy during the summer. Newcastle are being difficult on the matter so it’s anyone’s guess when it comes to Ashworth’s expected arrival at Old Trafford.

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