The sight of John Murtough and Erik ten Hag being pictured together on the Old Trafford pitch at the latter's unveiling was a clear sign that it's the men from Longsight and Haaksbergen who are tasked with piecing Manchester United back together.
Club officials have been determined to point out that Murtough is the man in charge of a streamlined recruitment operation this summer. Having been appointed football director in March 2021, his influence has grown under Richard Arnold in recent months.
This has been part of United's attempt to finally instil a proper football structure into their operation. Andy O'Boyle has been appointed as Murtough's deputy and Darren Fletcher's responsibilities as technical director will be streamlined this season.
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That will allow Murtough to focus all of his time on first-team affairs and along with Ten Hag he needs to rebuild a fractured squad that is lacking quality in key areas. There is a lot of work to be done.
United insist the changes in their recruitment department this year will allow them to focus more on data analysis, but in Murtough's first summer on the job, it's becoming clear that while he might be at the sharp end of negotiating deals, this is Ten Hag's transfer window.
Every elite manager is used to working in this kind of structure now. They might get a veto on transfers they don't want and they can suggest targets as well, but it's usually the football director and his team that are plotting a course.
But United's targets this summer all have one thing in common: Ten Hag. Murtough is happy to try and progress those deals but by doing so he is essentially hitching himself to the wagon of the new manager. If it goes wrong his head will be on the line as well, which is not usually how it works.
The focus is clearly on players Ten Hag is familiar with this summer and perhaps that speaks to loss of knowledge within United's recruitment department. They are turning their attention to data, but experienced scouts such as Jim Lawlor and Marcel Bout have departed.
Frenkie de Jong is the top target for a position United see as a priority. This is a pursuit clearly being pushed by Ten Hag, who worked with the player at Ajax until 2019. It would be a coup to sign him from Barcelona, even if there's a sense in some quarters that an elite-holding midfielder was more important.
In attack United have held talks with Ajax over signing Antony, the 22-year-old right-winger who has spent the last two seasons with Ten Hag in Amsterdam. United probably need a left-footed forward to add balance to their attack and there aren't lots of options, although this is a punt on potential given the difficulty attacking players have had in translating returns in the Eredivisie to the Premier League.
United are focusing on their midfield and attack at the moment, with defensive reinforcements only likely to arrive once some of the unwanted defenders still at the club have been sold, but having been thwarted in their pursuit of Jurrien Timber, the club are now looking at his Ajax partner Lisandro Martinez.
These are clearly defenders Ten Hag knows well, but it does feel like he's leading the recruitment this summer, with Murtough simply tasked with delivering players.
There are obvious risks to this approach. United will give Ten Hag time to get it right at Old Trafford, but bringing in three or four players who have already worked with him could be divisive in the dressing room, given they have an obvious headstart in his methods. There is a difference in standards between Ajax and Manchester United and if two or three players make the jump this summer they will have to be capable of raising their games.
United have had potential targets of their own. Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips are admired in midfield, Pau Torres and David Carmo have been of interest at the back and Ralf Rangnick recommended Christopher Nkunku of RB Leipzig in attack. But the approach this summer is to give Ten Hag what he wants, now the 52-year-old must deliver, for his sake and for Murtough's.
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