Bengaluru, October 3: Manchester United's search for a director of football has been the talk of the town for a quite a while, with the Red Devils aim to revamp their recruitment strategy. The Engish giants over the last three months have been linked with a lot of big names but recent reports in Italy, now have suggested that CEO Ed Woodward has struck a deal to bring Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici to Old Trafford.

After a disastrous transfer window which saw United signing only three players, Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fred, Porto right-back Dalot and Stoke City goalkeeper Lee Grant manager Jose Mourinho was left baffled by the club management's failure to land two other players, a centre-back and mostly a right-winger. The Portuguese manager also fired some strong words to Woodward during the pre-season visit.

But taking lessons from the circumstances, it is believed that United are set to follow the modern trend of adding a connection between the manager and the board and Woodward has been on the lookout for an appropriate candidate.

Woodward's search led him to a lot of candidates, with Roma high-profile director Monchi, Rb Leipzig's Paul Mitchell, Atletico Madrid's Director of football Andrea Berta etc to name a few, but reportedly he has now finalised a deal with the 46-year-old Juventus administrator, who will join the Red Devils next season.

Paratici joined Juventus from Sampdoria along with CEO Beppe Marotta and are seen as the main men behind making Juventus a powerhouse in Italian football with star-studded signings in the last eight years, most recently with Cristiano Ronaldo. Marotta and Paratici's partnership helped Juventus win the past seven Serie A titles while they also reached two of the past four Champions League finals.

But with Marotta leaving the Italian winners, the Italian sporting director is reportedly is looking for a better opportunity and with United also looking for a same profile like his, who has a lot of experience of managing star players and high pressure situation, the move certainly could turn out to be hit for the English side.

Though amidst all such speculation, the Old Lady's President, Andrea Agnelli, however, has dismissed the claims and suggested in coming days Paratici will be offered a higher role at the club, which certainly could put the Italian in dilemma over his next step.