Manchester United are considering appointing Andy O'Boyle, formerly of Liverpool, as their deputy director of football.
The Red Devils hierarchy want to hire someone to assist director John Murtough, who has recently taken up the post and is tasked with a major overhaul in the north west. O'Boyle currently works with the Premier League where he is the head of elite performances. His current role sees him create programmes and initiatives that includes aspects such as fitness testing.
O'Boyle's varied knowledge has seen him earmarked as a top candidate by those doing the recruiting at Old Trafford. He joined Liverpool in 2011 and eventually became the club's first-team fitness coach whilst also working with England's U21s. Prior to that the Northern Irishman had worked with United's academy back in 2006. He also had spells at Wrexham and Coventry City.
The Old Trafford chiefs are conscious that Murtough will not be able to perform his role without assistance, reports the Daily Mail. He took over from Ed Woodward, who copped continued criticism throughout his tenure for seemingly prioritising off-pitch success and financial coups ahead of results and the wellbeing off the squad.
Murtough's immediate task will be deciding who occupies the dugout next season. Currently Ralf Rangnick is in interim charge at Old Trafford but will not end the club's trophy drought. Defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last week ended any hopes of silverware this term.
Rangnick also faces a challenge in getting the team into the top four with Arsenal currently in pole position. It means the man who United employ next term may be dealing with Europa League football as opposed to the Champions League.
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Mauricio Pochettino is among the leading candidates having been linked with the role back in 2018 when Jose Mourinho was sacked. The now PSG boss faces an uncertain future in France having seen his side dumped out of Europe whilst he called out his players following their latest defeat.
Erik Ten Hag at Ajax is another man who is on the United radar. He too saw his team knocked out of the Champions League but ticks boxes for the club's top brass due to his work with young players and his style of play. Murtough said earlier this month that top four is “not the ultimate objective for Manchester United, and everyone at the club is focused on challenging for the top trophies”.
Chief executive Richard Arnold added that delivering titles and trophies was “our central objective as a football club and we are focused on building a winning culture to achieve it”. United's last trophy was the Europa League in 2017, won by Jose Mourinho whilst they have finished second just twice since 2013 in the Premier League.
