With Ole Gunnar Solskjær slowly but surely clearing Manchester United’s squad from the deadwood collected over the years, someone in the higher echelons will need to replace them.
The likes of Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James came in over the summer, but some areas still need to be addressed, like midfield.
The general consensus is that a director of football would sort things out, but United have struggled to find the right man in their long ongoing search.
Sport Witness took a look at the track record from other clubs around Europe, and one of the few who has had success at multiple clubs is Luis Campos, a man who has also been linked with a move to Old Trafford.
One of the advantages the former Real Madrid scout has over his competition is a software the Lille advisor and his company have put together, one which the French club have put to good use since he arrived as their owner’s right hand man.
Gérard Lopez explained, relayed by Le Figaro: “Luis is the source of new ideas for Christophe Galtier and myself. When he comes to tell us that Domagoj Bradaric, an up and coming player at Hajduk Split, will be one of the best full-backs in the world or that Tiago Djaló, a young Portuguese who has never played at high level, will be a starter in our defence, and it works later on on the pitch, it’s incredible.”
This ability to find the ideal player in the depths of Croatian football is thanks to the software, one that goes as far as covering Serbia’s third division and allows Lille to follow ‘up to 1300 players in detail ever year’, according to Lopez.
While Lille have no intention of parting ways with Luis Campos anytime soon, with the owner admitting his advisor is ‘often solicited’ despite being contracted long-term to the club through his company, they are open to sharing some of their information.
Lopez added: “I’ve told [Campos] I would be ready to open the database to other clubs. We could be led to share certain things depending on competition and ethics. I have no problems with that happening.”
That would clearly come at a price, but when money isn’t the main issue at certain clubs (like Manchester United), it might be something for Ed Woodward to explore.
Kind of getting Luis Campos without actually having Luis Campos.
