Southampton to battle for German sporting director on Man Utd’s radar

Southampton are set to battle with Manchester United to appoint German sporting director Erik Stoffelshaus, according to reports.

Following United‘s poor start to the campaign, executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is reportedly keen to bring in a senior figure such as a sporting director to help lead the club’s recruitment drive and help them bring in the best talent.

Earlier reports claimed that former RB Leipzig head coach Ralf Rangnick was on the Red Devils’ radar, but according to The Sun, Stoffelshaus is also a contender to fill the role.

Stoffelshaus, 48, has been credited with spotting and helping the rise of Mesut Ozil and Manuel Neuer and is famed for his work with Schalke and Lokomotiv Moscow, but the newspaper says that United could have a fight on their hands with Southampton also rating him highly.

The report claims that with the sporting director role at St Mary’s vacant since the departure of Ross Wilson to Rangers, such an appointment has become a priority.

What’s more, the appointment has reportedly been made more urgent after Friday’s 9-0 hammering by Leicester, as well as the exits from the club of other staff such as technical director Les Reed and chairman Ralph Krueger.

In other United, news, Sunday’s newspapers reported that Woodward was happy for United to go ahead and make a double £125m raid on two Bundesliga players.

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