MAN UNITED CONFIDENTIAL: Sir Dave Brailsford eyes key area to cut costs
Sir Dave Brailsford has only been observing behind the scenes at Manchester United for a few weeks, but the Ineos sporting director is said to have noted the level of overstaffing at the club.
Brailsford has been Sir Jim Ratcliffe's eyes and ears on the ground at Old Trafford and Carrington while the £1.3billion investment is being ratified, and the former British Cycling supremo is already identifying areas where savings can be made and the club can become more streamlined.
Ratcliffe is likely to appoint an external auditor to look at the spending and structure at United, which could place some of the 1,100 work-force under threat.
Brailsford has been at every game since Ratcliffe's purchase of 29 per cent of the club was confirmed on Christmas Eve, and is becoming an increasingly prominent figure in the process.
The 59-year-old met with manager Erik ten Hag at Carrington on New Year's Eve and was given a tour of the training complex, speaking to some of the players who had come in after the defeat to Nottingham Forest the night before.
Brailsford was at the forefront again when he joined Ratcliffe and Ineos chief executive Jean-Claude Blanc to meet fans' groups at Old Trafford on Monday. 'We got the feeling that this is the beginning of more dialogue, and the hands-on people will be Brailsford and Blanc,' one fans' representative told Confidential.
Sir Jim is box office draw
It was noted just how eager executives and other VIPs in the Old Trafford directors' box were to meet Sir Jim Ratcliffe when he attended Sunday's game against Tottenham, his first since the investment was announced on Christmas Eve.
The billionaire spent the match sat next to another knight of the realm, Sir Alex Ferguson, but there was no shortage of
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