Juventus chief scout Javier Ribalta joins Manchester United backroom

Juventus chief scout Javier Ribalta has reportedly joined Jose Mourinho’s backroom team at Manchester United, which will boost their pursuit of Alvaro Morata.

Daily Mirror are claiming that Manchester United have secured the services of another key Juventus man after their capture of Paul Pogba last season. Juventus chief scout Javier Ribalta has left Turin to join Jose Mourinho’s backroom staff at Old Trafford, according to the reports.

Ribalta has ended a five-year association with Juventus, where he was involved in all the key transfers which heralded the club into a new era of dominance in Italy. The man, along with Sporting Director Fabio Paratici, oversaw an array of successful transfers – Sami Khedira, Fernando Llorente, Kingsley Coman, Dani Alves and Paul Pogba to name a few.

“It has been a wonderful few years here. My thanks go to all involved with the club, particularly Giuseppe Marotta and Fabio Paratici for the faith they have shown in me since day one. I will look back on my time at Juventus with great pleasure,” Ribalta said reflecting on his time in Turin.

Ribalta also has previous work experience at Milan and Novara and United would be delighted to have the Juventus man on board ahead of a crucial summer for Jose Mourinho as he seeks to convert the current squad into genuine title challengers.

Ribalta’s arrival could also boost United’s pursuit of one of their primary transfer targets for the summer. Jose Mourinho has identified Alvaro Morata as the ideal man to lead his attack going in the 2017-18 campaign.

The former Juventus chief scout will be working in the same capacity, in co-ordination with Ed Woodward, the club’s Executive Vice-Chairman, who has been incharge of transfer dealings so far. It is purported that it was Ribalta who played a key role in Morata’s arrival at Juventus in 2014.

When Morata decided to leave the Bernabeu, Ribalta convinced the player that Turin was the best place for him and also insisted Pratici spend what seemed like an over-the-odds fee for a player, who back then was just beginning to establish himself.

Morata and Ribalta’s healthy relationship is well documented. The player himself reserved special praise for Ribalta upon his return to Real and the striker’s father too, reflected on the chief scout’s confidence in Morata’s talents.

“Javi has been Alvaro’s main supporter here in Turin. His close treatment was key and that made us feel comfortable. He knows football and he is always watching out for us; he is a phenomenon.”

United would hope the same can convince Morata to opt for a switch to Old Trafford over other clubs – and there are many. Morata’s arrival would really strengthen the club’s attack, both in terms of present and future viability, with the duo of Marcus Rashford and Alvaro Morata at Jose’s disposal.

It will be interesting to see whether Ribalta can have an influence on Morata’s transfer decision this summer.