Manchester United legend Edwin van der Sar is said to be lined up to replace Ed Woodward at the club this summer.
Woodward recently announced he would step down as vice-president of Old Trafford – a role he has held since 2012 – following the collapse of the proposed Super League.
Ed Woodward is on his way out of Manchester United | Craig Mercer / MB Media / Getty Images
Reports have since surfaced that Woodward was strongly opposed to the outrageous league plans and that he actually resigned because of the proposal, although the timing of his announcement given the huge backlash caused by the Super League seems extremely temporary.
Talk has now turned to who will replace the outgoing United boss, where the club understood that it had already drawn up a list of potential candidates.
BUT reports that former United goalkeeper and four-time Premier League winner with club Van der Sar is their main target for the post.
The Dutchman has been CEO of Ajax for five years after starting as the club’s marketing manager.
He has had tremendous success in the role of the Dutch giants reaching the Champions League semi-finals in 2019, and given his popularity at Old Trafford, the links seem credible.
Edwin van der Sar got a fruitful spell with United as a player | Etsuo Hara / Getty Images
The report goes on to provide a number of other names that are part of the role – all of which seem incredibly far-fetched – with Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo Araujo, former Manchester United captain Gary Neville and Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane also mentioned.
If you thought these names seemed ridiculous, there is also talk of former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez and recently sacking Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho as possible candidates.
While the majority of the names seem to be very little meaningful, Van der Sar’s work since he hung up his boots and his reputation at Old Trafford would make him the perfect replacement for Woodward when he retires this summer.
