What Christopher Vivell will do at Manchester United as Director of Global Talent appointed

Manchester United have appointed Christopher Vivell as the club's director of global talent, with him starting work immediately in the role.

The 37-year-old will be tasked with recommending the best available talent for the men’s first team and will also work to identify ‘emerging talent’ players with a proposed pathway development plan. As the job title suggests, Vivell will be tasked with identifying high-potential players all across the globe, with United keen to look into the South American market in particular.

He will report into sporting director Dan Ashworth and work closely on ensuring all players he recommends for the club are tailored to the club's revamped tactical approach and long-term plan.

Ashworth, who will report to Omar Berrada when he joins the club on July 13, will lead all football departments including all technical, performance and operations areas for the men's, women's and academy teams. Recently-appointed technical director Jason Wilcox will also report to Ashworth and will work in partnership with the Erik ten Hag to implement a clear football methodology across the men’s first team and academy, and will also and lead on all men’s first team player recruitment.

After his playing career came to an end, Vivell rejoined former club Hoffenheim as an analyst and then as a scout. After five years in those roles he joined RB Salzburg as head of scouting and then moved into the role or sports coordinator. During his time at Salzburg, Vivell was labelled ‘the Haaland discoverer' by German outlet Sport1 after he convinced the Norwegian starlet to join them over many high-profile clubs.

He then joined RB Leipzig as technical director before becoming their squad planner. Vivell joined Chelsea as technical director in December 2022 before leaving Stamford Bridge in July 2023 amid their own sporting restructure under directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley.

In his previous roles, Vivell has not only been credited with spotting the likes of Erling Haaland and Benjamin Sesko, but he has also been hailed for establishing detailed long-term development plans for a number of promising players.