A member of the Manchester United hierarchy is expected to leave Old Trafford, becoming the latest senior figure to do so in recent months.
Alan Dawson MBE has served as the Red Devils' director of football operations since September 2017, having joined the club five years earlier. A University of Oxford graduate, he spent 17 years in the Royal Air Force before joining United as a commercial operations director in April 2012.
After 18 months in the position, he was appointed director of business development and later took up the mantle of group operations director before embarking on his current role. However, Dawson is set to leave the club upon completing work on an unspecified special project, although final confirmation has not been received, according to The Athletic.
Dawson is not involved in on-pitch decisions, instead playing a vital role in the day-to-day running of the club. His remit spreads to travel, security, logistics and training ground operations.
Should Dawson leave United as expected, he will become the latest in a long line of senior officials to depart. Matt Judge, who was the club's director of football negotiations, resigned earlier this year and chief strategy officer Hemen Tseayo exited.
In terms of incomings, Richard Arnold was appointed chief executive at the start of the year and football director John Murtough saw his authority amplified. Others to have joined the club include deputy football director Andy O'Boyle, head of women's football Polly Bancroft and director of data science Dominic Jordan.
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United fans will hope the shake-up going on behind the scenes will translate to improvement on the pitch in the seasons to come. The Red Devils have not lifted a trophy since the 2016/17 season, when they were managed by Jose Mourinho, and their last Premier League triumph came all the way back in 2013 under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Erik ten Hag was appointed manager ahead of this campaign, following the troubled spells of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his interim replacement, Ralf Rangnick. There have been marginal signs of improvement but the Dutchman has struggled to imprint his style of play on his squad.
The was all too evident on Sunday, when United slumped to a 3-1 defeat by Aston Villa to leave them fifth in the table having dropped points in six of their 13 league games this season. The Red Devils will have the chance to exact revenge on Villa on Thursday, when they host the Midlands club in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
On Monday, the 20-time English champions were drawn against Barcelona in the Europa League play-off round.
