Security around Ed Woodward will be beefed up around transfer deadline day – with fears the Manchester United chief executive could again be a target for irate fans.
A 20-strong mob of thugs sprayed paint at Woodward’s Cheshire house and threw flares and a smoke bomb in an attack on his property at the end of the last window in January.
The so-called fans were said to be angry at a lack of transfer activity, even though United were close to sealing a £47million deal for Sporting Lisbon midfielder Bruno Fernandes at the time.
Now, with United struggling to match the spending of some of their top-six rivals in the current window, there has been mounting anger again by supporters who are frustrated at a failure to land No.1 transfer target Jadon Sancho.
It is understood that since the January attack the level of security at Woodward’s Cheshire home has gone up.
And it’s believed it will be in full force during in the coming days with the window closing on Monday.
Woodward, his wife and two children also have a house outside London where they spend the majority of their time.
None of his family were at the Cheshire residence when it was targeted in an attack which was filmed and shown on social media.
United and the football community condemned the cowardly assault.
On Saturday night the club insisted they have no updated concerns for Woodward’s personal safety.
However, the club’s hierarchy believe public outbursts by former Old Trafford star Gary Neville – an outspoken critic of Woodward’s performance in transfer dealings – have been both inflammatory and disturbing.
Only last month Neville slammed United’s failure to get the Sancho deal concluded, saying the club “have not got authority and control in the transfer market”.
United insist they have always backed their manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and claim spending in this current window would have been significantly higher had they not been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It’s believed the on-going crisis has cost United around £165m so far – and expensively offloading mega-money flop Alexis Sanchez from their books has also had a serious impact on their spending power.
