Edwin van der Sar tipped to replace outgoing Man Utd chief Ed Woodward
By Ross Jackson
Manchester United legend Edwin van der Sar is said to be being lined up to replace Ed Woodward at the club this summer.
Woodward recently announced he would be standing down as executive vice-chairman at Old Trafford - a role he's held since 2012 - following the collapse of the proposed Super League.
Reports have since emerged that Woodward was strongly opposed to the breakaway league plans and that he in fact resigned because of the proposal, though the timing of his announcement considering the enormous backlash the Super League has caused does seem incredibly coincidental.
Talk has now turned to who will replace the outgoing United chief, with the club understood to have already drawn up a list of potential candidates.
The MEN report that former United goalkeeper and four-time Premier League winner with the club Van der Sar is their main target for the post.
The Dutchman has been chief executive at Ajax for five years having initially joined as the club's marketing director.
He's enjoyed enormous success in the role with the Dutch giants reaching the Champions League semi-final in 2019, and given his popularity at Old Trafford the links do seem credible.
The report goes on to provide a number of other names who are in the frame for the role - all of which seem incredible far-fetched - with Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo Araujo, former Manchester United captain Gary Neville and Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane also mentioned.
If you thought those names seemed ludicrous, former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez and recently ousted Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho are also talked of as possible candidates.
While the majority of the names seem to make very little sense, Van der Sar's work since hanging up his boots and his reputation at Old Trafford would make him the ideal replacement for Woodward when he steps down this summer.