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Just like that, the last major remnant of the Glazer era at Manchester United is out and the club can move forward.
The Athletic report that John Murtough, the much-maligned Director of Football at United, has stepped down from his role.
His departure is set to be officially confirmed in the near future and the appointment of Jason Wilcox as the Technical Director will follow.
In the meantime, his responsibilities will be shared between the deputy DoF Andy O’Boyle, head of negotiations Matt Hargreaves, and director of football ops David Harrison.
United hope that Wilcox can start soon in his role and Dan Ashworth will arrive sometime after him to effectively take over Murtough’s duties.
There were earlier reports that Murtough could stay on in a reduced role under the new setup but this news still doesn’t come as a shock.
With much more experienced people coming in and INEOS looking to cut costs, a duplication of job titles without any clear remit didn’t make sense.
This brings to an end Murtough’s 10-year association with the club which saw him rise through the ranks rapidly to become the DoF in 2021.
However, his lack of experience in the role clearly shone through as United’s transfer windows went from bad to worse.
The overreliance on Erik ten Hag’s contacts to secure targets and the narrow scouting scope soon became a stick to beat him with.
Reports of his politicking behind the scenes worsened his position in the fans’ minds and eventually, like Richard Arnold, a clean break was the best scenario.
Wilcox has already resigned from his role at Southampton while compensation talks for Ashworth are still ongoing.
United hope that their new-look executive team will be in place for a pivotal summer transfer window, the first under the INEOS regime.
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