Who is John Murtough? Manchester United's first Director of football

Despite being linked with high-profile names such as Edwin van der Sar, Monchi, Luis Campos, Ralph Rangnick and Paul Mitchell, the Red Devils have instead opted to hand the role to a relatively unknown but important member of the existing staff.

He will work alongside former United midfielder Darren Fletcher who was also named as the new Technical Director and now reports to Executive Vice-Chairman Ed Woodward.

John Murtough's career so far

Murtough started his football career at Everton working alongside David Moyes as the club’s Sports Scientist. He later worked his way up to become their Head of Performance before leaving in 2012 to become Head of Elite Performance at the Premier League. He again joined David Moyes at Manchester United the following year and since then has occupied multiple roles, most recently the role of head of football development.

Over the past few seasons, he was also on the front lines of some of United's biggest transfers. Like he helped Alexis Sanchez sealing his move from Arsenal, while he also accompanied Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo to their medicals. He is also credited with reforming the United academy, overhauling the recruitment department and driving the launch of the women’s team.

His new job role

Murtough’s new role is to work on player recruitment and ensuring Solskjaer has the operational support required. United’s worldwide scouting and data analyst network will report to the 48-year-old and he alongside Solskjaer will take a decision afterwards. He will also be the first point of contact for clubs who want to buy or sell players. Matt Judge who mostly negotiates any transfer dealings will also report to Murtough. The Merseysider will also have the overall leadership for operations and strategy across the women’s teams and academy as well.