Manchester United’s head of football negotiations leaves club

Tom Keane, the man pulling the strings behind the scenes for Manchester United’s summer business, has returned to his law firm Brandsmiths.

Keane joined Manchester United last June on secondment replacing Matt Judge, who was Ed Woodward’s right-hand man, and took over the role of acting as a go-between for agents and the club as well as overseeing contracts.

To secure the signature of United’s new fan-favourite tank in midfield, Casemiro, it is understood that Keane flew to Spain alongside John Murtough, showing the importance of Keane’s job in the summer to bring the world-class talent that the fans demand.

It is reported by David Ornstein of The Athletic that Tom Keane fitted in well at the club and those around him wanted him to stay longer than the arranged 11-week placement that covered the summer transfer window.

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However, the uncertainty about the future owners of the club, with the Glazer’s currently looking at potential buyers, has meant that the filling of roles beyond the pitch has stalled as whoever the new proprietor of Manchester United is they are very likely to change how things are run at Old Trafford.

Due to this, Keane’s former job title is still unfulfilled following his departure which is something that the club wants to change between now and the next transfer window.

This has meant that United’s winter business of acquiring Wout Weghorst and Jack Butland on loan was done by Murtough and various lawyers and any agents who wanted to get in contact with Keane about United were redirected to Murtough, his deputy Andy O’Boyle or Steve Brown who is the head of recruitment operations.

With the hunt for a new owner being so public and the seismic changes to the interior of the club that that will bring, Manchester United fans can expect this period to be the calm before the storm and the consequence of this calm is losing people like Tom Keane who brought United’s best signing in recent years to the club.