Manchester United will increase security around Ed Woodward due to fears he could be targeted by furious fans again, according to reports.
A mob of around 20 balaclava-clad supporters - some who are understood to be members of United's notorious 'Men In Black' hooligan firm - sprayed paint at Woodward's £2m Cheshire mansion in January and threw flares and a smoke bomb in a sinister attack on the property at the end of the last transfer window.
The so-called fans were said to be angry at a lack of transfer activity at United in the previous window, even though the Old Trafford club were on the verge of sealing a £68million deal for midfield star Bruno Fernandes at the time.
Now with United having endured another quiet window in which they failed to match their rivals' spending and have only confirmed the signing of Donny Van de Beek in a £40m deal from Ajax, The Mirror report that security around Woodward will be in full force before the transfer window closes on Monday.
There has been increasing fury among the Old Trafford faithful at the club's failure to land their top targets, most notably Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho, though the Premier League side have agreed a two-year deal with former PSG striker Edinson Cavani.
But the report claims that since the January attack, the level of security at Woodward's Cheshire home has gone up and will be in place around deadline day.
None of his family were at the Cheshire residence near Knutsford when it was targeted in the January attack which was filmed and shown on social media.
Manchester United and the wider community including Piers Morgan and former United defender Rio Ferdinand were among those to condemn the attack.
Woodward, his wife Isabelle and two very young twin daughters also have a house outside London where they spend the majority of their time.
The report in The Mirror adds that the club however do believes public outbursts by former Old Trafford star Gary Neville have not helped matters during this window and have proved to be 'inflammatory and disturbing'.
Neville slammed United's failure to get the Sancho deal over the line last month, saying the club lacked 'authority and control in the transfer market'.
Patric Evra is another former United star who has criticised the club, taking aim at executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and his chief negotiator Matt Judge over the club's transfer policy on his own social media account.
But United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has since launched a staunch defence of United's board and claimed he has been backed in this market despite the lack of transfers and failed pursuit of Sancho.
The club are also believed to have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and the expensive offload of flop Alexis Sanchez to Inter Milan.
Woodward has been executive vice-chairman and the man de-facto in charge of United since 2013. They have not won the title since then.
Prior to joining United in 2005, Woodward was an investment banker at JP Morgan & Co.
