Blues appoint former Manchester United chief John Murtough

Birmingham City have appointed John Murtough, the former Manchester United football director, as their new director of football.

Murtough will start on Monday 26 October, replacing Craig Gardner, who left the role in June.

He spent more than a decade at Manchester United, joining in 2013 and becoming the club's first football director in 2021, a post he held for three years before leaving in 2024. He began his career at Everton, working in the academy before moving into football development and performance roles, and has also worked at Fulham, Coventry City and the Premier League, where he was head of elite performance. Most recently he was director of global development at the Italian club Atalanta.

Strategy, recruitment and the academy

The club said Murtough would take responsibility for its overall football strategy, working across the men's first team, the academy, recruitment, performance, data and football operations.

He will work closely with head coach Chris Davies and the existing football leadership team, and will oversee recruitment and squad building, as well as the development of a clear pathway from the academy to the first team. He will also work with Hope Powell to make sure the women's team benefits from the club's wider football strategy.

The Sports Quarter

The club said he joins at an important point, as its owners, Knighthead, continue to invest on and off the pitch and press ahead with the Sports Quarter, a planned development that it says will be one of Europe's largest sport-led regeneration projects, with a new stadium at its heart.

In a statement from the board, the club said: "We have been clear from the outset about our ambition for this club and for the city of Birmingham. We want Birmingham City competing at the highest level of English football, and we are building for sustained success, both on and off the pitch."

"The Sports Quarter demonstrates the scale of that ambition, and we need a football operation to match. John brings almost three decades of experience across elite football and will work closely with Chris and the excellent football team already in place."

"Enormous potential"

Murtough said: "I am incredibly excited to be joining Birmingham City. This is a great football club with brilliant fans and enormous potential. There is a clear determination from Knighthead to build something special for the long term, both on and off the pitch."

"My focus will be on working closely with Chris and the wider football team to give them the best possible platform to succeed, while continuing to strengthen recruitment, player development and the pathway from the academy. There is a hugely talented team in place and real momentum around the club."

His time as football director at Old Trafford was a turbulent one for United, who went through several managers and spent heavily in the transfer market, and supporters were often critical of the club's recruitment. Blues fans will be hoping his experience at the top of the game can help the club as it tries to build a squad capable of challenging for the Premier League.

Blues travel to Cardiff on Saturday on the back of three successive wins without conceding a goal.