Manchester United owner Joel Glazer is demanding changes to the structure of the club and has ordered them to appoint a Director of Football.
United are one of the few clubs in the Premier League that do not have somebody I such a position, although several tentative recruitment interviews have been conducted in the past.
Instead transfer policy has been determined on an ad hoc basis, with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and his contract negotiator, Matt Judge, the main men involved, with input from others, including manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
That has led to a somewhat chaotic approach with more than a billion pounds spent on transfers in the past decade alone. And with questions about how wisely this money has been spent the owners now want greater accountability.
Various former United players have been linked with the job in the past but none has been judged to have the requisite qualities to date.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.