Report: United seek technical director to bridge gap between Mourinho, board

Manchester United have identified the need for a technical director at the club in order to streamline communication between manager Jose Mourinho and the board of directors, sources told ESPN FC's Mark Ogden.

Mourinho was candidly upset with his club's failure to sign his preferred transfer targets before the closure of the Premier League's summer window, and United are hopeful of installing a technical director before it reopens in January.

Ogden notes the Portuguese manager was particularly dissatisfied with a lack of transfer progress updates from executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward while Mourinho and the squad were in the United States for a preseason tour.

Woodward currently serves as Mourinho's main reference point in United's management structure, and the executive himself requires approval from the club's owners, the Glazer family, in order to greenlight transfers. A technical director would provide Mourinho with a more readily available reference point to relay his desired transfer concerns.

Related: Manchester United hierarchy reportedly vetoed Mourinho's defensive targets

The Red Devils had been reported by The Guardian's Jamie Jackson earlier this month to be in search of a candidate for the more comprehensive role of director of football, an unprecedented first in United's lengthy history.

Ogden, however, reports United would rather avoid having to remodel their recruitment hierarchy entirely, a near certainty if they were to implement a director of football, analogous to the position occupied by Txiki Begiristain at rivals Manchester City.