• It seems like a waste of time to be honest with you. I don’t understand why clubs need a director of football. If you’ve got a manager, he’s the one who buys the players.
• Manchester United are also in talks with Mike Phelan — who returned as assistant manager in December — over a technical position within the new hierarchy.
Paul Scholes has questioned whether Manchester United should appoint a sporting director and believes his former club should focus on bringing new players into the club instead.
Rio Ferdinand has been in talks to rejoin his old club in a technical role with the Old Trafford outfit keen to recruit the defender ever since his retirement four years ago.
However, Scholes, a former team-mate of Ferdinand’s for Manchester United and England, has questioned the need for the planned restructuring at the club this summer.
Scholes told BBC Radio Five Live: “It seems like a waste of time to be honest with you. I don’t understand why clubs need a director of football. If you’ve got a manager, he’s the one who buys the players.”
“He’s got a chief scout, obviously, who recommends players and he watches them and then buys them. A director of football role, for me, isn’t needed. It’s just creating jobs around clubs that aren’t necessary.’
Ferdinand spent 12 seasons at Old Trafford, becoming captain and winning six Premier League titles, one Champions League, and two League Cups. The defender also earned 81 England caps and appeared at two World Cups. Ferdinand was a team-mate of United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s between 2002 and 2007.
Manchester United are also in talks with Mike Phelan — who returned as assistant manager in December — over a technical position within the new hierarchy. However, Scholes believes the club needed a different focus to improve on their performance on the field.
The former Manchester United midfielder instead suggested the key priority for Manchester United is improving the squad with quality signings over the summer.
“Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his chief scout, over the next six weeks, would be best to move in together and nail down everything they want, watching videos, watching games, finding out what positions they need to improve, getting to know each other really well. He needs five or six big players, he knows that, he’s not stupid and hopefully he can improve the squad.”