Matt Judge & John Murtough What do we know about them?
by Alex Dudley
I
t has already been a strong summer of business by United off the pitch. The new additions to the playing squad will be the ones to get all the attention, but long-awaited changes behind the scenes have also been important developments that have been made. Changes were desperately needed to help United fine tune their football operations, which led to the arrivals of John Murtough and Matt Judge. Darren Fletcher also returned to the club to take up the position of technical director. These changes have been vital in helping United bring in new stars over the summer months, but how much do we know about Murtough and Judge? Murtough Appointed Football Director The role of Football Director wasn’t a position that was held by anybody at United before the beginning of March. However, the club announced that Murtough would be taking that position, and will be working closely with Fletcher focusing on the technical input of United, including the performance on the pitch. Murtough’s main responsibilities will include leading the club’s operations and strategic plans off and on the pitch.
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The biggest responsibility certainly would be the recruitment of new players, something that the club has been ridiculed for over recent years. There certainly has been a new plan this summer, as United have been able to get the vast majority of their work done early in the window. This hasn’t been the case over recent transfer windows, with United signing Alex Telles, Edinson Cavani and Bruno Fernandes towards the end of the last summer and window windows. Murtough is no stranger to those that work at the club, as he has been with United since David Moyes arrived at Old Trafford in 2013. He was promoted to the club’s head of football development three years later, which has been a position that he has held up until his most recent promotion. It is believed that Murtough impressed the club’s hierarchy during the formation of the women’s team, where the Liverpudlian was integral in helping find the right balance of players to lead the team. He was also a vital part of the overhaul of the United academy, and played a starring role in bringing in Hannibal
Mejbri. Finding the right players has been an important role in his position throughout his career, as he was previously the head of elite performance for the Premier League. Murtough and Fletcher’s new roles have been pivotal this summer in giving Ole Gunnar Solskjaer good time to fine tune his squad ahead of the new season. Business being done early means that players have time to bed in before the start of the new Premier League season, despite the quick turnaround following the European Championships this past summer. Judge Named Director of Football Negotiations There will be a big change in how United bring in stars over the coming months, with Ed Woodward recently revealing that he would be stepping back from his duties. Woodward announced his departure following the fallout from the Super League, which was condemned by fans across Europe. However, Matt Judge was already appointed to have an integral role in transfer strategies back in March, as he was promoted to the position of Director of Football Negotiations.
