MANCHESTER, England -- Confusion reigned at Manchester United last summer.

Matthijs de Ligt was dismissed as a possible transfer target over fears he could become overweight. The club's video analysts pushed for the arrival of Brazilian midfielder Fred. Manager Jose Mourinho demanded a new centre-back but didn't get one; he'd be fired just three months after the 2018 summer window closed. The lack of clear direction was enough to convince executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, in charge of it all, that it was time for a change. But six months into the search for the club's first director of football -- Woodward prefers the term "technical director" -- and the new man is still not in place.

Last summer, United reached a breaking point in terms of how they sign new players. The club was working to finalize a short list of transfer targets by the end of February 2018, but it was still a work in progress at the end of the season because Mourinho decided a new central defender should be a priority. Names of players who had not been properly assessed or scouted were suggested in meetings without warning, while players who had been appropriately vetted, with mountains of data gathered over several years, were dismissed out of hand.

It was the beginning of a breakdown in communication between Mourinho and Woodward that ended with the Portuguese coach being dismissed in December. His replacement, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, is heading into another crucial summer but supporters waiting for wholesale changes to the way the club is run are still doing just that. Waiting.

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If Man United tread water much longer, the danger is that instead of making up ground on Manchester City and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League, they will be surpassed by ambitious, upwardly mobile clubs like Wolves, Leicester and Everton. It is something Solskjaer has already warned of.

United's structure has always been built around the manager, a hangover from Sir Alex Ferguson's 27 years in charge that spanned a time in which other clubs were changing the way they worked. In his heyday, clubs often revolved around singular, iconic figures, but the modern era demands a multi-faceted approach, with responsibilities shared among a group rather than an individual. So far, United have failed to reconcile the glory and processes of the past with the demands of the future.

In structural terms, they are a club left behind.

Reliance upon singular figures

Former chief executive David Gill tells a story about just how much control Ferguson had. In 2011, Gill decided to rename Old Trafford's North Stand in honour of the Scot to mark his 25 years at the club. Only eight people were told about the plan and the work was carried out at 2 a.m. the day before the announcement. Ferguson was so involved in everything that there was no other way to keep it a surprise.

By the time Ferguson retired in 2013, he was doing everything from picking the team to acting as a default director of football having handed much of the first-team coaching duties to assistants Mike Phelan and Rene Meulensteen. Football has changed beyond recognition since Ferguson's appointment in 1986 but his successor, David Moyes, was still granted the same authority. The structure changed slightly after Moyes was sacked in 2014 and the duties of a football executive divided up, but the two managers after him -- Louis van Gaal and Mourinho -- remained the key figures with little assistance or oversight.

Ed Woodward, left, is the man in charge of Man United's overall direction, but his inability to find the right hire is preventing the club from making the smart signings they need. Nick Potts/EMPICS/PA Images via Getty Images

When Mourinho read reports that Woodward had decided to hire a technical director, he demanded to be told it wasn't true. The implication was that he feared his power would be watered down; Woodward insisted it wasn't, knowing very well that making an appointment of that kind would be much easier once Mourinho had gone. That was six months ago.

Solskjaer has not been afraid to admit the size of the rebuild he faces after watching his team finish sixth in the Premier League, a mammoth 32 points behind champions Manchester City. The problem, though, is that other than the manager, not much has changed. The way United buy players is broadly similar to a year ago. And last time, it did not go well. Instead of bridging the gap with City, they went backwards.

A repeat this summer would immediately put Solskjaer on the back foot ahead of his first full season in charge. After the last campaign ended with eight defeats from the final 12 matches, he needs a flying start.

Why is it taking so long?

Woodward's plan for a technical director is to hire someone capable of overseeing the football side. In his mind, it is someone who can deal with first-team recruitment while also having the foresight to buy a teenager and organise a loan with the right club to fit his development. There are other issues that this person would need to address, some of them in embarrassingly simple areas such as maintaining clear communication with United players.

For example, Ander Herrera was left panicking about his future last summer after hearing nothing from the club about whether they planned to trigger a one-year extension in his contract. He received a letter notifying him of the renewal only five days before his deal was due to expire.

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In the middle of contract talks this season, Herrera heard nothing from United for three months. It was only after Solskjaer was appointed permanently in March that he was made an offer, but by then it was too late. Sources have told ESPN FC that the lack of communication was a major factor in Herrera's decision to leave this summer.

The confusion surrounding Herrera is not an isolated case. A prominent academy player was left stunned after United did nothing about securing his future until weeks before he was due to become a free agent. "He had more attention from the rest of the top six and the biggest teams in Europe than from his own club," one source told ESPN FC.

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