Manchester United are set to add the Premier League’s head of elite performance John Murtough to David Moyes’ staff at Old Trafford, with Murtough set to be reunited with the former Everton manager, under whom he worked at Goodison Park.
Murtough was in charge of the academy at Everton during David Moyes’ tenure on Merseyside, a position he held in two separate spells at Goodison Park. In his first sting at Everton, Murtough was responsible for developing the likes of Wayne Rooney, while after returning to Merseyside in 2008, he oversaw the development of Ross Barkley, Jack Rodwell and Seamus Coleman.
The 40-year-old, who’s also spent four years at Fulham in the same role he occupied at Everton, left the Toffees to work with the Premier League 12 months ago and is widely regarded as one of the best man in the country in terms of developing youngsters.
In a statement released last night, United have confirmed that Murtough will not replace Brian McClair as the academy director, nor any of the staff currently working for the club, as he’s expected to be working across a number of different areas at Old Trafford, as David Moyes begins the promised restructuring of Manchester United he first mentioned when he was appointed as Sir Alex Ferguson’s replacement in July.
Granted, the appointment is likely to be seen by many as yet another inevitable step in Moyes’ “Evertonisation” of United but looks instead like an extremely clever move from the club and the manager, as both seek to strengthen United’s youth set-up and, possibly, revamp the club’s scouting system which has been more miss than hit over the last couple of seasons.
It’d be interesting to see whether Murtough’s arrival will pave the way for the introduction of a “Director of Football’, a figure that’s becoming increasingly popular with Premier League clubs, or whether they will continue without a middle man between David Moyes and Ed Woodward.
