Sir Jim Ratcliffe's influence at Manchester United is growing all the time and transfer insider Dean Jones has provided another key update regarding the overhaul at boardroom level.
Dan Ashworth to Man Utd latest
The Red Devils' impressive form continued on Sunday afternoon, with their 2-1 win away to Luton Town keeping their top-four hopes in the Premier League looking healthy.
There is a feel-good factor at United that has returned of late, not just because of the results on the pitch, but also due to Ratcliffe's 25% share in the club being approved last week. That was seen as a big moment, as the boyhood supporter looks to slowly gain even more control, and things appear to be heading in the right direction.
Dan Ashworth has emerged as a primary target to come in as a sporting director, with the Englishman now officially requesting a move away from Newcastle United and being placed on gardening leave, while further appointments behind the scenes are to be expected in the coming months.
There could even be a shake-up with current staff, with a new update suggesting as much.
John Murtough's Man Utd role set for change
Speaking to Give Me Sport, Jones claimed that further changes should be expected upstairs at Manchester United soon, with football director John Murtough's role on the line.
"Manchester United have identified him (Ashworth) as somebody that's got all the credentials to get them up to speed and give them an edge when it comes to the transfer market. So that's good. Jason Wilcox, we knew that United were going to go look at someone as a head of recruitment type that would come into the club.
"I'm not sure that will be specifically Wilcox's job title, if he does indeed come in. But that is a role that we did expect to be filled. I still think you might hear about some other changes, like John Murtough, might have a bit of a move sideways within the setup and things like that. But ultimately, they are getting themselves set up early so that they can attack the summer transfer window."
This is an encouraging update from a United perspective, suggesting that lots of work is being done by Ratcliffe to get the club working in the best way possible moving forward.
It is common knowledge that life under the Glazers has been largely stale over the past decade or so since Sir Alex Ferguson departed as manager, and while sporadic trophy successes have arrived, there has always been a feeling that the club has been run badly, especially in terms of recruitment.
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Ratcliffe is addressing that impressively, however, and if he feels that Murtough's role should change, perhaps in order to create space for Ashworth to come in and work his magic with new staff of his own, it is a decision that will need to be trusted and respected.
The fact that past reports have suggested that Murtough could be relieved of his duties as United's football director certainly suggests that it is a decision they have been mulling over for some time.