Man Utd make drastic change behind the scenes 'after years of poor transfers'

Manchester United have dramatically reduced the size of their scouting network in a bid to put an end to years of bad transfer business. The Red Devils have spent an astonishing £1.6billion on players since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, the last time they won the Premier League title.

Poor recruitment has been a factor in United's demise and the new regime at Old Trafford have acknowledged the club's costly mistakes. Director of recruitment Christopher Vivell, 38, will lead a more streamlined scouting network, having joined in February last year.

Vivell, who previously worked at RB Leipzig before a brief spell with Chelsea, initially arrived at United on a temporary basis, helping them navigate the 2024 summer transfer window. It was their summer first since Sir Jim Ratcliffe became a co-owner, taking control of football operations.

German Vivell's work behind the scenes has earned him plaudits at Old Trafford and the hierarchy trust him to improve their recruitment record. That starts with a new-look scouting network.

According to the Manchester Evening News, United once had 100 scouts on the payroll which sources say led to 'years of poor transfers'. Dozens have left the club over the past 12 months, with Ratcliffe overseeing two rounds of redundancies.

READ MORE: Man Utd working on five exits after Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho twist

READ MORE: Ex-Man Utd boss Ralf Rangnick launches fresh attack on Old Trafford 'decision makers'

A 10-man team comprising of Armand Benneker, Marco de Sisti, Roy Beukenkamp, Giuseppe Antonaccio, Ben McFarlan, Jose Mayorga, John Lambert, Norbert Duwel, Steve Head and Nicolas Cinalli are listed as first-team scouts. They'll report to Vivell, with Ratcliffe and his fellow bigwigs expecting results.

The Red Devils co-owner claimed last year that United were 'still in the last century on data analysis', a damning indictment on the previous regime led by Ed Woodward. "The club has drifted for a long period of time, a decade or so," Ratcliffe lamented in an interview with the fanzine United We Stand.

"Manchester United has become mediocre. It's not elite and it is supposed to be one of the best football clubs in the world. That's what it used to be under Alex. There is major change to come to achieve elite status. But already there has been huge change at this club.

"Until were are as good as anyone in the world, then it's not good enough for Manchester United. We must have the best recruitment in the world.

Who should Manchester United sign this summer? Let us know your picks in the comments section.

"Data analysis comes alongside recruitment. It doesn't really exist here. We're still in the last century on data analysis here. There's immense amount of useful data that we can get from data analysis and we're in the 'very poor' bracket with data analysis here.

"These things don't happen overnight. You can't just flick a light switch and sort out recruitment. It's all about people and we need to find the right people."

Michael Sansoni, an engineer for Mercedes' Formula 1 team, has reportedly been lined up to join United at the end of this year. Given that Ratcliffe's petrochemicals company, INEOS, own a stake in Mercedes F1, the process should be smooth and would be supported internally.

Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.