Manchester United Begins Major Recruitment Overhaul Including Senior Scout Cuts

Manchester United is undergoing a significant overhaul of its recruitment and scouting departments as part of co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS’ efforts to modernize the club’s football operations. The club is actively searching for a new head of senior recruitment to lead and streamline the senior scouting team, supported by regional heads focusing on emerging talent globally. This restructuring, aided by the sports intelligence consultancy Sportsology Group, aims to reduce the number of scouts from around 140 to fewer than 80 and increase efficiency through a more data-driven approach, following the recent appointment of Michael Sansoni as director of data. Christopher Vivell, appointed as director of recruitment, will oversee the revamped recruitment operation, reporting to director of football Jason Wilcox. Long-serving scout Simon Wells may leave as part of these changes, which reflect United’s struggles in successful transfers and underperformance in recent seasons. The revamp seeks to address these issues by blending traditional scouting with enhanced data analytics to better identify and secure talent for future success.