Manchester United have made a breakthrough with Dan Ashworth’s move from Newcastle United but another move could be in the pipeline.
Ineos wanted to make big changes upon taking control of Manchester United.
That doesn’t just mean making signings, but also building the football infrastructure – something the Glazers didn’t do.
Jason Wilcox came in as technical director, Omar Berrada will arrive as the new CEO and Dan Ashworth has now been secured.
Ashworth has been a top United target for months now but negotiations with Newcastle have proven difficult.
Now coming in as United’s new sporting director, Ashworth will help shape the club’s approach moving forward – and another deal is wanted.
The Athletic report that United are looking to bring in Christopher Vivell on a short-term deal.
Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg adds that this is now a ‘done deal’ and Vivell will become United’s new Director of Recruitment.
Who is Manchester United target Christopher Vivell?
Vivell hails from Karlsruhe in Germany and was a centre forward in his playing days, turning out in the German lower leagues.
Hoffenheim handed Vivell his first big chance in the game, appointing him as an analyst at the age of just 23 back in 2010.
Vivell started out with the Hoffenheim second team before being promoted to the first team in 2013.
After working as an analyst and a scout, Vivell was plucked by Red Bull Salzburg, becoming their Head of Scouting in 2015.
Five years there – and more power thanks to a promotion in 2017 – resulted in Vivell heading over to RB Leipzig, where he spent two years as technical director.
Vivell struck a similar deal with Chelsea in 2022, but curiously left the club after just a few months.
Out of work since July of last year, Vivell is now set to join United and provide a welcome boost for this transfer window.
Who has Vivell signed?
Figuring out just who was the driving force behind a signing is always tricky.
The old saying is that ‘success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan’; scouts love to take credit for good signings and missed opportunities who become stars, but you rarely hear of recruitment staff owning a failed signing.
Vivell has been a key part of recruitment teams in the past though and his seven-year spell in the Red Bull recruitment setup throws up some interesting names.
Patson Daka, Enock Mwepu, Mohamed Camara, Erling Haaland and Benjamin Sisko wre all signed by Red Bull Salzburg during Vivell’s time with the Austrian side.
Vivell was moved to RB Leipzig in 2020 and the club were able to strike deals for the likes of Josko Gvardiol, Dominik Szoboszlai and Mohamed Simakan with Vivell on board.
The 37-year-old may not have had a huge say at Chelsea given his brief time there, but the Blues did sign the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Benoit Badiashile with Vivell at the club.
United are building quite the recruitment team right now and Vivell could be next to try and find some gems in the transfer market.