MU staff hit with wave of redundancies as club look to revamp scouting network

Manchester United are revamping their scouting network – and are hunting a new recruitment guru.

Mail Sport understands that the Premier League giants have made a series of redundancies and want to rapidly improve their identification and acquirement of talent after a series of disastrous transfer windows.

It can be disclosed that London-based ‘sports intelligence agency’ Sportsology has been tasked with making a series of hires – which include a Head of Senior Recruitment.

United will also be seeking new regional ‘Heads of Emerging Talent’ who will scour the globe for elite prospects. In addition, they are looking for a number of other senior roles, each of which will report into director of recruitment Chris Vivell.

Insiders say the moves, which come following the arrival of co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos group, are part of an ongoing restructuring and modernisation of the club’s scouting network. They come following an era of overwhelmingly poor recruitment, which has been responsible in no small part for United’s underperformance on the field in recent years.

The club last won a Premier League title in 2013 and despite heavy investment remain a considerable distance from England’s superpowers. Last season’s club-record 16th-placed finish and Europa League Final defeat means there will be no European football this year.

Last month, director of scouting Stephen Brown left Old Trafford after nine years with the club. Simon Wells, a scout brought in by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, is also thought to be under threat.

In a post on social media, Brown hinted at the scale of the departures. He warned of the ‘continued exits of scouts and recruitment analysts from the scouting department at Manchester United’.

Brown, formerly of Everton, offered to provide references for those who are leaving, adding: ‘What I can guarantee from all scouting staff leaving United will be a dedicated hard working individual who strives for excellence. They will have a commitment to detail and precision with their assessments combined with excellent knowledge of their markets and football networks. You would be employing brilliantly collaborative individuals with pragmatic and realistic perspectives.’

On their website, Sportsology describe themselves as: ‘a leading provider of premium knowledge, strategic advisory, and operational support in the sports industry’.

They add: ‘Our expertise is focused on franchise owners, global leagues and federations, and Institutional Investors, driving success and fuelling transformative growth. We are dedicated to empowering sports organizations to create and own their future.’