Manchester United Wants Edwin Van Der Sar As First Director Of Football

Manchester United are reportedly eyeing Edwin van der Sar as their first director of football.

Edwin Van Der Sar

The two-time Champions League-winning keeper, 48, is currently chief executive at Ajax – and has received glowing reports over his work at the Amsterdam club.

United are one of only three Prem clubs without a director of football or similar and the club have previously stuck to the mantra that they are taking the time to find the right acquisition.

And according to media reports, the 2008 hero of Moscow is high on their list – eight years after he retired to spend time with his wife Annemarie, who had a health scare when he was at United. Van der Sar works alongside Ajax’s current director of football Marc Overmars.

The Dutch club sold their two most talented young stars in Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt over the summer, but at a huge profit of £142.5million.

And making money from sales is something United have been severely criticised for as well. Executive vice chairman Ed Woodward and head of corporate development Matt Judge have been handling transfer business at United since David Gill retired in 2013.

And the results have been slapdash, with a world record £89m fee paid for Paul Pogba, as well as a defensive world record £85m sum paid to Leicester for Harry Maguire over summer.

Judge has been United’s chief negotiator over deals – but the club have received criticism for being slow to process transfers. The club were also reluctant to hire a director of football while Jose Mourinho was in charge, given the Portuguese tends to loathe working under one.

Darren Fletcher and Rio Ferdinand are also names who have been put in the frame for United, but Van der Sar’s European connections make him an attractive option.

Photo Credit: Getty

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