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ABOVE MY ED

Man Utd chief Woodward slams ‘myth’ he picks transfers by watching YouTube and says he merely signs off money on deals

MANCHESTER UNITED chief Ed Woodward has slammed a myth that he picks transfers by watching them on YouTube and revealed he merely signs off money on deals.

The Red Devils executive vice-chairman has come under fierce scrutiny for his role in the club's current plight, with fans accusing him of having too much power in bringing in players.

 Ed Woodward has claified his role in buying new players for Manchester United
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Ed Woodward has claified his role in buying new players for Manchester UnitedCredit: Getty - Contributor

Supporters organised a protest at his position prior to the 1-1 draw against Liverpool and later flew a plane with a banner reading "Ed Still Failing #WoodwardOut" over Old Trafford.

Jose Mourinho has suggested that he was left frustrated by the lack of financial backing in the transfer window during his time at the club.

But in an interview with fanzine  Woodward insisted that managers will always have the final say when it comes to signings.

He said: "The decisions related to recruitment are all taken by football experts. My involvement is signing off the money.

"The manager has a veto on a player - we would never sign a player the manager wouldn't want because he wouldn't play him. But we also feel the recruitment department, the football experts, should have a veto too.

"I don't get involved in recruitment like people think I do. There's a myth that I look at YouTube and choose players. I don't. Having an eye for players is an art. I have no interest in doing that.

"I just want to have a disciplined process because if you are spending a lot of money on a player you have to make sure you get more right than wrong.

"Where I get involved is that I have to sign off the money, yet when you have target one, two or three from your process I feel fine going after the No 1 target and, if it's not to be him, then number two or three."

There's a myth that I look at YouTube and choose. I don't. Having an eye for players is an art. I have no interest in doing that

Ed Woodward

United's recruitment has been heavily criticised following their difficulties on the pitch but Woodward also explained how changes had been made to improve their system.

He added: "The system wasn't set up in the right way. Twelve scouts reporting to one chief scout was more set up to say no - too many exceptions to the process were made historically while this was being fixed.

"We also have to hold our hands up and say that recruitment wasn't at its best in recent years. We feel that we now know who our best scouts are.

"The idea is to recruit in a closed environment, rather than listening to the press or getting distracted by conflicting agents' claims. We try and make cold decisions based on information.

"Judge the recruitment department in the coming windows where hopefully we can get a team to be at the level we want to be."

Discussing the January window, he continued: 'The manager sits down in September - so Ole has already done this for the next cycle - and told the experts the positions that he wants to recruit in and the characteristics relating to those players."

United are thought to be chasing a creative midfielder and a left-back and are keen on a swoop for Leicester duo James Maddison and Ben Chilwell.

The Red Devils are also lining up a move for RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner, to ease the goalscoring burden on Marcus Rashford.

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