Rio Ferdinand remained tight-lipped amid talk of a surprise return to Manchester United as sporting director.
The Old Trafford giants are going through a background restructuring process, with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward looking to bring in a technical director having named Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as permanent manager.
Woodward is understood to have spoken to ex-United defender Ferdinand as he looks to fill the role, but the exact intricacies of such conversations are unclear.
The former centre-back was seen speaking to former United team-mate and current Ajax chief executive Edwin Van Der Sar – another man linked to the Old Trafford post – on Tuesday and was asked on BT Sport if he was getting tips following Tuesday’s reports.
“He’s a lovely fella (Van Der Sar). He’s doing a fantastic job there. He was just telling me the ins and outs of what he actually gets up to there.
“It’s very demanding but very satisfying when you’re playing at a level like this at this stage in the tournament.”
Mike Phelan, Sir Alex Ferguson’s former right-hand man, has also been linked with the role after working as Solskjaer’s assistant since December.
The 56-year-old has yet to sign a full-time deal at Old Trafford and has been working as sporting director of Central Coast Mariners, who are bottom of the A-League in Australia.
