Ralf Rangnick and Erik ten Hag are reportedly at 'loggerheads' with the Manchester United hierarchy over a crucial acquisition set to be made this summer.
Ten Hag will take over as the Red Devils next permanent manager at the end of the season, replacing Rangnick who has been in interim charge since November. The Dutchman will lead a large-scale overhaul that will impact both on the field and off the field structures at Old Trafford.
It is an overhaul that is badly needed, with United having endured a dreadful campaign, with United set to miss out on qualification for next season's Champions League. In particular need of improvement is the Red Devils' recruitment department.
That overhaul got underway last week when United announced that chief scout Jim Lawlor and head of global scouting Marcel Bout will both leave the club. Ten Hag and Rangnick are thought to be in agreement about who they want to come in to replace the duo.
According to Sky Sports, Ten Hag and Rangnick are 'pushing' for Paul Mitchell to be brought in by United. It is stated that they have made a 'strong recommendation' that Mitchell be appointed as technical director or head of recruitment to help kickstart the overhaul coming to the Red Devils.
Mitchell has enjoyed a successful career since first moving into recruitment at MK Dons. He has since led that department at Southampton, Tottenham, RB Leipzig and Monaco, earning a reputation for building brilliant squads.
The likes of Dele Alli, Christopher Nkunku, Kieran Trippier and Son Heung-Min have all been signed by Mitchell. His current role is at Monaco, who he joined in 2020, with the club currently in the top four of Ligue 1.
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While he has enjoyed a successful time at the Stade Louis II, it is claimed that he is 'open to leaving' in the summer. And with both Ten Hag and Rangnick pushing his candidacy, United would appear to be in pole position to bring him in.
Despite the recommendation from the two managers though, it is stated that they facing push back from United's hierarchy. It is claimed that 'other deciders' are 'against' any move to bring Mitchell to the club.
The opposition to Rangnick and Ten Hag's recommendation goes in the face of frequent calls from the German for United to reset themselves. The interim boss has had hidden his feelings about the scale of the challenge facing Ten Hag.
“You don’t even need glasses to see and analyse where the problems are. Now it’s about how do we solve them? It’s not enough to do some minor amendments – cosmetic things. In medicine you would say that this is an operation of the open heart," he said last week.
"If this happens and everyone has realised that this has to happen and if people want to work together then it makes sense and I believe it doesn’t take two or three years to change those things. This can happen within one year.
"The most vital part is that the club manages to get in the best possible players, and we have the attitude, the energy. We need positive energy for the new team and this is also important for the new manager.”
