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Manchester United’s overhaul of their staff setup is continuing apace and the latest appointment is at the academy level.
Laurie Whitwell of The Athletic reports that United have hired Sam Williams to lead the recruitment drive at the club for players aged between 17 and 21.
Williams arrives from Ipswich with a sterling reputation where he became a part of the setup that, along with another former United man Kieran Mckenna, is defying expectations at Ipswich.
Interestingly, Williams left United in April 2022 in search of a bigger role which he received at Ipswich.
He became the Head of Recruitment at the Championship club and oversaw various deals there which had Ipswich making a fairytale run in the Championship.
At United, he will become the lead scout and report to Head of Academy Recruitment, Luke Fedorenko.
Fedorenko is also a fairly recent hire at the club as United have aimed to revamp their youth setup as well.
The revamp is already showing encouraging signs, with the U18s sitting at the top of the U18s Premier League table.
The kids have won 14 out of 14 games, scoring 46 goals and conceding only 10. A shock oust from the FA Youth Cup remains the only blot on their record this season.
Williams’ job will now be to continue scooping up the best young talent in the country and beyond for the club’s development program.
Unlike other executive-level decisions, this appointment is not contingent on INEOS arriving at the club or even their acceptance.
Instead, Nick Cox (Academy Director) and Steve Brown (Head of Scouting Operations) have led this drive as part of their larger remit to revamp the club’s academy scouting department.
As a club in a highly competitive catchment area where the likes of Manchester City are also competing for players, any marginal gain, in the words of Sir David Brailsford, can be crucial.
A player found by Williams might end up turning into a multi-million asset in the future, as has been the case with Mainoo and Garnacho this season.
Amid the huge announcements of a new CEO and incoming Sporting Directors, this is as important a move even though its impact won’t be seen immediately.
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