Two senior figures at Man United set to leave in latest round of redundancies

Two senior figures in Manchester United's leadership team are reportedly set to leave the club.

Mail Sport exclusively revealed earlier this week that staff had been hit with a brutal new wave of cuts. This is the second round of redundancies since Sir Jim Ratcliffe completed his partial takeover of United last February.

Eight months ago, Ratcliffe let 250 staff go, and he wants to reduce the head count at United by a further 200 people.

As part of this process, Richard Hawkins, United's director of football insights and innovations, and David Harrison, director of football operations, have both been told they will not have roles at the club moving forward, according to The Athletic.

The two men are understood to be discussing exit terms ahead of their imminent departures.

Hawkins has held his current position since March 2023, having first joined the club as a human performance manager back in 2008.

He went on to be appointed head of athletic training services and then head of physical performance.

Meanwhile, Harrison has played a key role in the refurbishment at United's Carrington training ground.

He is also well-respected across football after previously spending 27 years at Everton.

Hawkins and Harrison have been deemed surplus to requirements, while United's director of scouting, Steve Brown, is also leaving after deciding against accepting a new position.

The Red Devils also made a major change behind the scenes back in December when sporting director Dan Ashworth moved on just five months after arriving at Old Trafford.

Further departures are set to become clear over the coming days. A total of 450 employees – more than a third of the original workforce – have lost their jobs since Ratcliffe took over the day-to-day running of the club.

The latest round of redundancies come after Ratcliffe claimed in March that United were in danger of going bust by Christmas if he did not take action to stop the club losing money.

However, there are concerns at United that Ratcliffe's redundancy programme, often focusing on more established members of staff, is in danger of tearing the heart and soul out of the club.