Manchester United 'set to appoint Dougie Freedman as new director of football'

Manchester United are reportedly preparing to appoint Dougie Freedman as their new director of football, with incoming minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe identifying the Crystal Palace sporting director as his number one target as part of a revamp at the club.

Ratcliffe is expected to complete a 25% purchase of the 20-time English champions in the near future, and he is set to take over football operations at Old Trafford.

Freedman has been heavily linked with a move to the club, with the 49-year-old allegedly having the support of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson.

According to Football Insider, the Palace sporting director is Man United's number one target to become the club's new director of football.

Freedman was heavily involved in his current side signing the likes of Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi, and his work on a limited budget has allegedly put him in the picture for a step up in his career.

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Earlier this month, despite the speculation, Palace chairman Steve Parish insisted that the club had not been contacted by Man United to discuss Freedman despite the recent speculation.

"You would have to get into the minds of those people (Manchester United decision makers) wouldn't you,' he told the Rest is Football. "I certainly don't think there's been any conversations. It's flattering for the club.

"You guys live in the world where 50% of the stories in the media are true, 50% are not. We just don't know which ones yet."

Freedman retired from professional football in 2010, and he then went on to manage Palace, Bolton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest, before returning to Palace as sporting director in 2017.

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INEOS performance director Sir Dave Brailsford is expected to be brought to Old Trafford in a leadership position, while ex-Juventus CEO Jean-Claude Blanc is also set to arrive.

The positions of football director John Murtough and director of football operations David Harrison are said to be under threat, while Richard Arnold's exit as CEO has already been confirmed.

Ratcliffe will come in at initial 25%, but it is believed that the British billionaire has plans to complete a full takeover of the club in the not too distant future.

The arrival of the owner and founder of INEOS had expected to be confirmed during the November international break, but the complexities surrounding the deal meant that it had to be pushed back.

Man United are now hopeful of announcing the move in the near future to allow them to be active in January, with as many as four players potentially being targeted.