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Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has hailed his side’s sporting director Dougie Freedman even as he continues to be strongly linked to a Manchester United switch.
Following confirmation that Sir Jim Ratcliffe completed his 27.7% partial investment into the club, all attention has since been on getting the right structure in place as INEOS plots a radical overhaul of United’s sporting operations.
Already, United secured the signing of Omar Berrada from Manchester City to come in as the club’s next CEO and Richard Arnold’s long-term successor.
The Red Devils have identified Newcastle’s Dan Ashworth as their number one target to assume a maiden sporting director role at Old Trafford.
The Magpies placed their executive on gardening leave in response to United’s enquiries about his availability.
Negotiations remain ongoing between the two clubs in an effort to find an agreement that would see Ashworth start work at United, sooner than his current contract at St James’ Park permits.
Another person on INEOS’ radar is Southampton’s Jason Wilcox, who has been tipped to become United’s next technical director role with an overview of the club’s academy.
A previous report covered by The Peoples Person relayed that United want Freedman as their next head of recruitment.
It was stated that the Eagles were bracing for an official approach.
Palace manager Oliver Glasner was asked about Freedman’s potential move to United. He said, “It shows me what I was thinking – here [at Palace] there is a great sporting director and a great person.”
“This is how I see Dougie after two weeks and a lot of talks with him. He knows all the players all over the world. He is a fantastic guy. He is a great person and a sporting director.”
Glasner expressed hope that he will have the opportunity to work with Freedman in the foreseeable future.
“If there are these rumours, it shows other clubs see it in the same way. I don’t know if it’s true or not. We didn’t speak about the squad for next year – I want to get to know the players who are here.”
He added that Palace’s squad planning ahead of the transfer window will begin next week.
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