Manchester United will look to bring in a new director of football over the coming weeks, with a current Premier League official seemingly top of the list, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Man United's January window

The Red Devils were quiet in the winter window, which shouldn’t come as a major surprise given current director of football John Murtough’s comments back in December.

“Looking ahead to the January transfer window, we are not expecting it to be particularly busy. There will always be the possibility of deals around the edges of the squad, particularly in terms of finding opportunities for players who are not playing as much football as they would like.

“However, we’ve always been consistent in saying that we do not see January as the optimal time to do business and our recruitment strategy remains focused on summer windows.”

In fact, United and Erik ten Hag failed to make a single signing in January, with the main focus being on several outgoings. A number of players left the club on loan, including Jadon Sancho, Donny van de Beek and Hannibal Majbri, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS now looking ahead to the summer to conduct the majority of their business.

The Old Trafford shake-up is already in motion with the news of Manchester City's chief operating officer, Omar Berrada, being appointed to replace Richard Arnold, and it looks as if one man is in line to replace Murtough as director of football.

Romano shares Man United director of football “plan”

Talking in his daily briefing in the last 48 hours, relayed by One Football, Romano said that the “plan” is to bring in Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth in the coming weeks.

“We know Man United need a new director of football, and the plan remains to try to bring Dan Ashworth to the club in the next weeks.”

This isn’t the first time that the 52-year-old has been linked with a move to Old Trafford, with reports back in December saying that the Newcastle man was “very keen” on the Red Devils role. He was named as the club’s top target at the time, and it doesn’t look as if that has changed.

Gary Neville is a fan of Ashworth, with the Red Devils legend taking to X earlier in the season to share an interaction he had with the Newcastle man prior to the Magpies’ 3-0 win at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup.

“On my way up to the gantry last night, I bumped into Dan Ashworth. He transformed the FA’s structure, set Brighton up for this incredible period of success and has now built a strong foundation for the new owners at Newcastle. He’s competent, highly qualified and knows what he’s doing.

“Will work with his coach, recruitment team and other departments coherently and calmly. In the last two matches, Manchester United have played two clubs that have installed proper football departments to support the team on the pitch and off it. The complete opposite of United. We haven’t got a sporting director! I used to travel up to Newcastle and feel sorry for their great fans when the energy and enthusiasm had been sapped from them under Mike Ashley. It was painful to see.

“Last night, we saw the Theatre of Dreams turn into the Theatre of Nothing. Every single United fan bored and flat. On the pitch, the players in shock, the performances woeful and a manager struggling in front of our eyes. We’ve seen it before, we know how it ends and we’ve had enough.”