- Steve Parish commented on Dougie Freedman’s move being linked to Manchester United
- Paul Mitchell is one of the possible candidates for Man Utd’s new sporting director
- Jean-Claude Blanc has been considered as the new club CEO
Crystal Palace Chairman Steve Parish insists that Dougie freedman has not been in contact with Manchester United regarding their vacant post of sporting director.
Man Utd is currently undergoing a major upheaval in its boardroom, as Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS will be purchasing a 25% minority stake.
The INEOS CEO Jean Claude Blanc is being considered as a possible candidate for the new position. Ratcliffe is said to also be interested in bringing on a sports director.
90min is aware that Palace’s Freedman, a former recruitment expert at Tottenham and Southampton, has been named as a possible candidate.
Freedman, a former Scotland International, took over Selhurst Park’s reins in 2017. He has been doing a great job ever since improving the Palace team. Freedman’s most recent successes have been signings like England Internationals Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi and France Starlet Michael Olise. All of them have contributed to making Palace an excellent mid-table team in the Premier League.
Parish, who is the chairman of the club, was asked about the rumours that Freedman would be taking over the Man Utd position on the Podcast The Rest is Football .
You would need to understand the mindset of these people (Manchester United’s decision-makers), wouldn’t? He said. I don’t believe there have been any discussions. The club is astonished.
You guys live in a world where half of what you read in the news is true. Half of the stories in the media are false. Just yet, we don’t have a clue.
“[He has been] very important. He is a genius. He was my second manager at the club. It was he who helped us get promoted.
He’s played a key role in saving the club. With a goal scored at Stockport, we avoided being relegated. While playing for Wolves, he got us promoted. It’s clear that he has a strong connection to the club, and he works hard. It’s been a pleasure working with him during the difficult transfer window.
The fact that he is linked to clubs such as those shows he has done the right thing.