8 months ago
35 According to latest reports, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has urged former Liverpool transfer head Julian Ward to join Manchester United.
After it was disclosed that he had a 27.7% minority ownership stake in the Red Devils, 71-year-old Ratcliffe has been working to transform the United boardroom.
According to Ineos, Dan Ashworth, who is Newcastle United’s sporting director at the moment, is the front-runner for the same position at United.
Newcastle have placed the 52-year-old on gardening leave while discussions for his departure are still in progress. Nevertheless, several sources indicate that Ratcliffe is already considering alternative options.
The Daily Mirror claims that Ratcliffe has also suggested Julian Ward, the former director of football for Liverpool, as a possible addition to Ashworth’s squad in the future.
The 42-year-old has reportedly been contacted about joining Old Trafford’s newly reorganised recruitment team.
After taking over as director of football for a full year, replacing Michael Edwards, Ward departed Liverpool last summer.
During his time at Liverpool, he managed the signings of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, and Alexis Mac Allister, among other notable players.
Omar Berrada has already been named as United’s next chief executive, after an announcement was made last month.
Ratcliffe is still planning to restructure the recruitment department at Old Trafford, and one person who is on United’s radar is Southampton’s director of football and former Manchester City academy director Jason Wilcox.
Ineos Group holds both Wilcox and Berrada, who both worked together at City, in high regard.
Ratcliffe is making big changes in the backroom staff at the club in order to turn around the fortunes of the club and make them good enough to compete with the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal.

