Sir Jim Ratcliffe could be bringing the axe down on Manchester United CEO Richard Arnold, football director John Murtough and director of football operations David Harrison on Monday when he is supposed to take control of the club’s football operations, reports the Sun.
The INEOS owner is allegedly closing in on the acquisition of his 25% stake in the Old Trafford club and is expected to start calling the shots on major footballing decisions next week and is expected to oversee a major overhaul at the club, with the positions held by Arnold, Murtough and Harrison under heavy scrutiny.
The British billionaire is apparently shocked that the Red Devils have already splurged to the tune of around £1.4 billion on players since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013 and all they managed to get in return were just one FA Cup, two League Cups and a Europa League title.
Arnold had succeeded Ed Woodward as Man United CEO from 2012 to 2022 and Murtough – having spent five years as the director of development – was named director of football in March 2021, while Harrison’s appointment was in February of this year.
It’s heavily rumored that they could all be made accountable for the Red Devils’ underwhelming campaigns in recent years when the OGC Nice owner comes on board with his INEOS director of sports and his right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford in tow, with the latter expected to play a significant role when it comes to making key decisions about major calls.
As for heavy signings in the past, the Old Trafford club paid £89million for Paul Pogba, £75m for Romelu Lukaku and £59.7m for Angel Di Maria – all of whom were clearly club failures, while positive results are yet to be seen for the £85.5m paid for Antony, the £73m for Jadon Sancho, the £44.5m for Anthony Martial and the £40m for Donny van de Beek.
The current manager now beginning to come under intense scrutiny, Erik ten Hag, added to the melee by bringing in Andre Onana, Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund and Sofyan Amrabat during the last summer transfer window, and to date only the Denmark international has managed to impress even though he is yet to score in the Premier League.