Christopher Vivell: Man Utd’s new chief played “notable” role in deal for “brilliant” star

Manchester United appointed Christopher Vivell as their new head of recruitment earlier this year after he impressed in the role on an interim basis.

After Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS took charge at Manchester United at the beginning of last year, one of their biggest priorities was securing a new and improved management team.

The likes of Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada came in while Dan Ashworth joined and then left in a short space of time.

However, the team is now finally complete and Ratcliffe explained on The Overlap that the first board meeting with everyone involved was conducted last week.

“We had a board meeting last week and it was a really good, cohesive meeting. Really good group of people, really focused on getting Man Utd to the right place,” said Ratcliffe.

“It’s the first time we’ve had a board meeting since I arrived on the first of January where we’ve had the full team in town.”

One of those members would have been Christopher Vivell, who is the club’s new director of recruitment after holding previous roles at Chelsea and RB Leipzig.

United had initially appointed Vivell in June 2024 on an interim basis but that was made into a permanent role last month, with the recruitment specialist reportedly taking a pay-cut for the position.

Vivell played notable role in Heaven deal

Vivell seemed to have some level of impact on United’s summer transfer business, especially in terms of the £1 million move for Mali teenager Sekou Kone.

The 19-year-old midfielder joined the club from Guidars FC, a Malian club that have strong links with the Red Bull group, which Vivell previously worked for.

Once again, the 38-year-old has had an impact in United’s January move for the young defender Ayden Heaven, who joined from Arsenal.

Heaven recently made his debut for Ruben Amorim’s side and he was described as “brilliant” after his first Premier League appearance.

AcademyScoop has revealed that Vivell played a “notable role” in securing the services of the talented defender, alongside several Mens and Academy staff members, including Jason Wilcox and Luke Fedorenko.

It was also explained that Heaven had interest from several clubs, including Chelsea and Barcelona, but opted for United due to the pathway and long-term project presented to him.

United’s recruitment is key for rebuild

United are going to need the recruitment team to be extremely successful over the next few years to ensure that they can return to competing at the top of the table.

Bringing in Vivell was a major part of improving that aspect, while the Data Analysis in the club still needs to improve.

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Ratcliffe and his leadership team currently have the plan to win the club’s 21st league title in the 2027/28 campaign and that feels very soon and unrealistic.

But football can change quickly, which is obviously what they are hoping for. In the end, United’s improvement will live and die whether the recruitment team make the right decisions.

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