Erik ten Hag suffers a setback as Manchester United confirms an unexpected departure from the club
Manchester United has confirmed the departure of highly regarded coach Justin Cochrane, who has joined Brentford in an unexpected move away from Old Trafford.
The 40-year-old spent a year as the Red Devils' head of player development and coaching before being poached by the Bees this week, dealing another blow to new United manager Erik ten Hag. Cochrane has agreed to terms with Brentford on a three-year contract and will work alongside Thomas Frank in a newly created role as head of coaching.
The former Crewe Alexandra defender was signed by the Red Devils last summer after coaching England's youth teams within the Football Association and earning his badges over nine years at Tottenham Hotspur amid competition from clubs who offered him first-team positions.
Cochrane, who impressed during a season in which United won the FA Youth Cup, has returned to his hometown of London to pursue his dream of working at the senior level.
"Justin is an outstanding coach who has done very good work in recent years with Tottenham, England, and Manchester United," the Bees' director of football, Phil Giles, said. "We've known him for a while, so when the opportunity to bring him to the Club arose this summer, we jumped at the chance. Justin will join the First Team coaching staff, which will continue to be led by Thomas Frank." The Head of Coaching position is new to us, but it will help us bring the coaching staff across the Club even closer together and ensure that our coaching principles are completely consistent across teams We are excited to have Justin join us on the first day of preseason."
Timber's decision to stay at Ajax will be a huge blow, but if no defensive signings have been made by January, United will almost certainly try to sign him again.
Earlier on Saturday, it was reported that Ten Hag was confident in his ability to improve both Raphael Varane and Harry Maguire at the heart of Manchester United's defense. That would eliminate the need to bring in a defender, and United fans will be rooting for Ten Hag to succeed.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0