Why Manchester United must appoint Luis Campos as Director of Football

Manchester United have been alerted about the possibility of Luis Campos quitting as Lille’s Sporting Director (source – Daily Record). It has been said that Campos had disagreements over the club’s transfers with the board and has asked them to release him from his contract.

Who is a Director of Football (DoF) and what is his role?

In layman terms, a DoF is an executive figure appointed by a club to take charge of certain policies at the club, be it transfers, integration of youth from the academy levels or set up extensive scouting networks. He is someone who will act as a link between the owners of a club and the manager, which will help the club function better with an eye on the future.

A DoF can play many different roles depending upon the club they’re at. In most cases, they are required to do the aforementioned tasks. However, in some cases, they have to act as a support to the manager who may lack expertise in the field.

Another important thing they do is to improve the club’s stature. In the end, the role of a DoF is a rather vague one and a lot depends on which club they are associated with.

Why Manchester United need to appoint Campos

Ed Woodward largely oversees the transfer activities at Old Trafford and decides on the ins and outs. While Woodward may be a marketing genius, we can’t say the same about his football nous. More often than not, it can be seen that he has bought players who are more marketable rather than what the manager has wanted.

It is clear that a Director of Football has been needed at the club ever since David Gill stepped down in 2013. The club has been reluctant to fill that role so far. With a director of football in place, there would be clearly defined roles for everyone. Woodward could focus on the business side of things, the director can focus on the recruitment and Solskjaer can be left to manage the team.

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It is a good opportunity for Manchester United as Campos has had a lot of success for the last two teams he was a part of. Monaco and Lille have enjoyed good fortunes both on and off the pitch. Manchester United should try to appoint him and end this topic of discussion once and for all.