Former Paris Saint-Germain Sports Director to join Manchester United as the new 'Head of Recruitment'

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Antero Henrique

Former Paris Saint-Germain Sports Director Antero Henrique is in advanced talks to become Manchester United's new head of recruitment, according to reports from the trusted French outlet L'Equipe.

It is believed that several meetings have already taken place between the Red Devils and Antero Henrique and he is expected to sign for the Mancunian club in the coming days.

The Portuguese was with PSG from June 2017 to June 2019 and orchestrated the high-profile transfers of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. Antero also oversaw FC Porto's most successful era as their sporting director. The club won 7 Primeira Liga titles under his astute guidance.

The 51-year-old is very well respected in the game and is seen as the ideal man to lead the transfer dealings at Old Trafford. Ed Woodward, the current man in charge of Manchester United's transfers has come under severe criticism from the fans and experts alike after constant failures in signing key players in successive transfer windows.

Over the past 18 months, the Red Devils have been linked with Ajax's Edwin Van Der Sar, Lewis Mitchell of RB Leipzig and Atletico Madrid chief Andrea Berta for this coveted position but have been unable to finalize the appointment.

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has welcomed the possibility of working with a Director of Football and believes it will only take the club in the right direction. The Norweigian manager was quoted saying:

“Football has changed and the structure at football clubs have changed. That’s just the way football goes. A manager can’t do as much as he used to do when my gaffer started, for example.

“Me and Ed (Woodward, executive vice-chairman) and Joel (Glazer, co-chairman), we are looking at how can this club be ran as smoothly and as well as possible.

“We’ll see what the club will end up with and I’m happy talking and discussing football with knowledgeable people in the right positions."

If you are a Manchester United fan reading this, you must hold on to your excitement for now, as we have seen it too many times in the past where the club has promised a new direction to their fans after a miserable transfer window.

With only 3 days left in the January transfer window, Bruno Fernandes is nowhere near signing for Solskjaer's side and there are no indications of a new striker joining the squad either. It seems as if, signing a Sports Director will be Manchester United's biggest success story from the January transfer window.

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