Manchester United sources have dismissed suggestions that talks have been held with former Liverpool director Michael Edwards.
Edwards is currently on a break from football following his departure from Anfield earlier this year and has already informed suitors Chelsea that he is not prepared to consider an early return to action, with Blues co-owner Todd Boehly currently working on a deal to recruit him in the summer of 2023.
Meanwhile, reports in England claimed that United had held talks with Edwards and were close to striking a deal to move to Old Trafford, but when contacted by 90min, United sources were quick to deny the speculation.
United have denied speaking to Edwards, who remains adamant that he will not take up a new position until next year.
The 43-year-old has previously held talks with Chelsea over joining their revamped recruitment department. Boehly remains determined to strike a deal with Edwards and is working on an agreement which would see him join at the end of the current season.
Since leading the takeover of Chelsea earlier this year, Boehly has overseen a major overhaul of Chelsea’s recruitment department and is building up a new team at pace, with Monaco technical director Laurence Stewart the latest to agree to join the staff at Stamford Bridge.
Christopher Vivell is expected to join Chelsea following his departure from RB Leipzig, while Southampton’s recruitment chief Joe Shields has also agreed to make the move.
The Blues are also exploring a deal for Brighton’s head of scouting Paul Winstanley, who was initially identified as a potential candidate when Graham Potter first arrived at the club.
Rumors in the last couple days have linked Michael Edwards with a potential opening at Manchester United, but it would appear that those were little more than idle speculation. The former Liverpool sporting director remains on sabbatical, just as he was when he rejected Chelsea in the summer.
In fact, according to Sky Sports, the links to United are just “fiction” — unlike the “CEO of football” offer and talks with Chelsea, which did apparently did pique his interest, but did not work in terms of timing.With Chelsea set to make multiple new hires in the (hopefully) near future as we rebuild the technical and recruitment operations at the club — including a technical director and perhaps as many as three new people in player recruitment — we may yet hold out hope that Edwards changes his mind sooner rather than later, which may mean Todd Boehly staying on as (interim) sporting director in the meantime.
