Manchester United were heavily criticized for their transfer policy in summer transfer window, Ed Woodward and Jose Mourinho were thought to have come to clashes over transfers, with the former interdicting the latter’s attempts to sign centre back targets such as Tottenham Hotspur star Toby Alderweireld and Leicester City’s Harry Maguire.
United’s Executive Vice Chairman Woodward has been accused of naivety in the transfer market, and made him the subject of protests from supporters.
Woodward is now looking to recruit someone who can act as a link between United manager Mourinho and United’s hierarchy and believes a director of football would be the best approach, as United look to undergo a major restructuring of their football operations.
According to reports, Andrea Berta is on top of Woodward’s shortlist, following his success in the transfer market since moving to Atletico Madrid in 2013 from Serie A side Genoa. He is a part of an illustrious list which includes AS Roma transfer chief Monchi, Juventus supremo Paratici, RB Leipzig’s Paul Mitchell and former Red Devil Edwin Van der Sar, although he has distanced himself from the position at his old club as per reports.
Andrea Berta’s success can be measured by his growth from being a scout to overseeing the complete technical operations at Atletico Madrid. The Italian has been lauded for delivering key signings, notably those of Antoine Griezmann and Jan Oblak.
The duo were 23 and 21, respectively, when they arrived in 2014 for fees of €30 million and €16 million; each of them is worth more than three times his outlay today. He is also hailed for successfully managing to tie down club captain Diego Godin and Griezmann into long term-deals.
”Berta is a champion. In these years at Atletico he has always achieved good results and gained money.
He finds important players without paying too much, he has done miracles in Madrid.”
– Italian agent Dario Canovi on Berta in 2016
United had earlier registered their interest in Andrea Berta back in 2016 after Van Gaal was sacked, but Woodward himself opted to be hands on when it came to recruitment and it is clear that despite resisting initially, there is a desire to bring a dedicated person in.
It remains to be seen how realistic some of these targets are for United given that the likes of Andrea Berta and Paratici are likely to see their current positions at their respective clubs are far more appealing and engrossing than United, who are only now looking to appoint a director to oversee their recruitment process.