Manchester United’s director of scouting, Steve Brown, is set to leave the club as sweeping changes to the recruitment strategy at Old Trafford begin to take effect, according to a report from The Athletic.
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The move comes as United prepare for a significant reduction in their scouting team.
Under Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s leadership, this marks the second major redundancy drive, with the number of scouts at the club expected to fall sharply.
Major Staffing Changes at Carrington
Currently, Manchester United have approximately 80 scouts employed worldwide. However, as per the report Sir Jim Ratcliffe believes this figure remains too high.
Only a few years ago, United’s scouting network was even larger, employing around 140 scouts — comprising 50 full-time and 90 part-time employees.
Meetings involving the human resources team are scheduled for next week at United’s Carrington training complex, states the report.
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During these meetings, employees at risk of redundancy will reportedly be informed of the club’s decisions.
Steve Brown becomes the most high-profile departure in this restructuring process.
He recently notified his colleagues of his decision via email.
In his message, Steve Brown explained that he had declined an offer of an alternative position proposed by technical director Jason Wilcox and director of recruitment Christopher Vivell.
Citing his experience and the timing in his career, Brown chose to move on, thanking his colleagues and calling Manchester United a “special place.” He will continue his duties until the end of June.
Steve Brown Influence at Manchester United
Brown joined Manchester United in 2016, having previously worked with former football director John Murtough at Everton.
Over his tenure, Steve Brown played a significant role in major projects, including the development of Project Bethlehem, United’s large-scale recruitment rebuild, and TrackerMan, a centralised database combining scouting reports and player data.
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Highly regarded for his professionalism, Brown was deeply involved in meetings to select transfer targets, particularly during Erik ten Hag’s time at the club.
He was a familiar figure in the Old Trafford directors’ box on match days.
Despite its extensive use, TrackerMan faced criticism.
Some argued that while it successfully identified talented players, United often failed to act decisively on scouting recommendations, with communication sometimes limited.
Vivell’s Appointment and Wider Redundancy Plans
According to The Athletic, the arrival of Christopher Vivell as director of recruitment introduced a new executive layer above Brown’s role. This change is part of a wider restructuring strategy at United.
The report says the month of April is going to be a key deadline, as United must formally announce redundancy intentions after CEO Omar Berrada informed staff in February about an upcoming wave of layoffs.
It is expected that around 200 employees will be made redundant, following the 250 job cuts that took place last summer.
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