Manchester United's director of football negotiations Matt Judge is set to resign, but the club have no plans to hire a like-for-like replacement, despite links to Monaco's Paul Mitchell.
The Athletic have reported that Judge, who had been involved in United's transfer business since 2014, will leave his position later this year and is currently working out his notice period. He will not be expected to play a role in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Judge's decision is thought to have come after a number of structural changes at Old Trafford, which led to executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward 's departure earlier this year. His relationship with the club is understood to remain amicable, but his pending departure comes at an interesting time, given other developments behind the scenes.
United had reportedly been eyeing a new director of football, but that may have taken a sour turn after Mitchell turned down a move to England. The Englishman has been tempted to stay by the offer of a sizeable budget to spend at Monaco in the upcoming window.
Mitchell was appointed Monaco's sporting director in 2020 following an impressive spell at RB Leipzig and, according to Foot Mercato, he could stay with the French club despite his efforts with Monaco having been criticised in some parts.
Mitchell, who has previously worked at Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton, became well known after his spell at the Saints alongside Mauricio Pochettino. He bought Nathaniel Clyne and other successful signings to the club, then moved to Spurs with Pochettino later in 2014. During his time there, he bought Dele Alli, Son Heung-min and Toby Alderweireld to the squad. He is well thought of in England and knows United's current interim manager, Ralf Rangnick, from their time together at Leipzig.
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United's backroom reshuffle has also resulted in the departures of chief scout Jim Lawlor and head of global scouting Marcel Bout. John Murtough, who was appointed as the club's first ever football director and worked closely with Judge, is now understood to be leading football recruitment at the club, alongside technical director Darren Fletcher.
Richard Arnold, who took over Woodward's role earlier this year, is happy to take more of a back seat when it comes to football decisions, unlike his predecessor.
There are, of course, further changes scheduled to take place at Old Trafford. Rangnick has just three Premier League games remaining in his stint in charge of the team before moving into a two-year consultancy role as planned, despite being announced as Austria's next national team boss. Erik ten Hag has been appointed on a four-year contract to become the team's next manager from July.
The Red Devils, who are currently sixth in the Premier League table, will face Brentford on Monday night as they look to strengthen their position in the top-six before finishing their disappointing campaign away against Brighton and Crystal Palace.
