Manchester United have prioritised the academy in recent years under Ineos’ stewardship.
Focus
The Red Devils have spent significant sums trying to bring in some of the most exciting players at youth level.
Ayden Heaven and Chido Obi were plucked from Arsenal’s academy.
Sekou Kone, Diego Leon and Cristian Orozco have also been signed from abroad to enhance the strength of the academy.
This has resulted in strong performances, with the under-21s progressing to the semi-final of the playoffs against Manchester City.
The under-18s have also reached the final of the prestigious FA Youth Cup, where they will again face City next week.
Continued restructuring
United have also been restructuring at the decision-making level, as Darren Hughes was poached from Manchester City as a coach to work under academy head Stephen Torpey.
The Daily Mail reports that United are not yet done in reshaping their academy team.
The paper states that, “United have launched another raid on Newcastle’s academy in a bid to strengthen their recruitment operation.”
The Red Devils had made an offer for Newcastle’s head of youth recruitment, Paul Midgley, in December but he turned down the role.
The Daily Mail is now stating that the club “have headhunted their Premier League rivals’ lead youth technical scout Harvey Busby to fill the role of lead national scout at Carrington.”
Were he to accept the role, it is thought he would be in charge of the under-14 to under-16 age group.
The Red Devils also famously enticed former sporting director Dan Ashworth away from Newcastle in 2024, but he only lasted a matter of months at the club before being replaced by Jason Wilcox.
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