Court heads up the recruitment department, the analysts responsible for drawing up the infamous mile-long list of 804 right-backs before settling on Aaron Wan-Bissaka. United's strategy is to whittle down the shortlist to 15 targets before slashing it down to three attainable targets: a first-choice, a back-up target and a third option.
United sources said Solskjaer refused to countenance signing a third-choice target, which would account for the chastening time Van de Beek has experienced (Jack Grealish and James Maddison were Solskjaer's preferred options).
Court and his team caused ructions in 2018 when they vetoed some of Mourinho's recruitment recommendations at centre-back, including Jerome Boateng and Ruben Dias. Boateng started in Bayern Munich's Champions League final triumph over Paris Saint-Germain in 2020 while Dias helped Manchester City regain the title and was named the PFA Player of the Year in 2021.
Chief scout Jim Lawlor remains influential. "Jim Lawlor and Mick Court were the scouts here under Ferguson and they are still delegated to identify targets," a source told the MEN in 2019. "Matt Judge is the one doing deals and Ed signs them off, but he also signs off non-football aspects as well."
與其浪費人地大好前途不如簽個大隻佬防中算啦