Sir Jim Ratcliffe cuts continue as Man Utd lose scouting chief before crucial transfer window

Sir Jim Ratcliffe oversaw 250 redundancies at Manchester United last summer and is now poised to axe a further 200 people, with the director of scouting a high-profile example

Manchester United will lose their director of scouting this summer in the middle of a crucial transfer window for the club. United are planning a complete squad overhaul in the summer transfer window after enduring another miserable season – but they will have to do so while navigating job losses behind the scenes.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been on a crusade to cut costs since taking control of the club last February and has made sweeping changes across the board. He has been openly critical of United’s record in the transfer market and believes they can operate much more efficiently when the window opens for business on June 1.

United have racked up a staggering net spend of €1.3bn (£1.08bn) since 2015 – more than any other club in the world – without seeing the benefits on the pitch. INEOS have therefore decided to save money by reducing the number of staff in the scouting department – and those changes are beginning to be seen.

The Athletic reports that director of scouting Steve Brown has emailed his colleagues to reveal that he has decided to leave the club at the end of June. He had been offered a different role by United technical director Jason Wilcox and director of recruitment Christopher Vivell, but has instead decided to leave the club.

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Brown was hired in 2016 by former football director John Murtough and has been an important member of the club’s recruitment process. He currently sits at the top of a scouting network of around 80 people – a reduction from the around 140 that worked for the club just a few years ago.

Ratcliffe believes they can reduce the numbers even further and talks are planned at Carrington next week where other employees will be informed that their jobs are at risk. Around 200 people are expected to lose their jobs at United, in addition to the 250 job cuts that came last summer.

The petrochemicals billionaire has been open in his communication of “difficult” decisions that he believes are necessary to turn things around at United. ” Manchester United has become mediocre,” he told the United We Stand fanzine earlier this season.

“It is supposed to be one of the best football clubs in the world. We have to make some difficult and unpopular decisions. If you shy away from the difficult decisions, then nothing much is going to change.”

He added: “I know we get criticism in the press, but we do need to challenge the cost of running this club because what I want to be free for us to do is buy really good footballers, not spend so much of the money on infrastructure. We can’t run a business at a loss, which is where United have been in the last couple of years.”

United are 15th in the Premier League ahead of their match against Bournemouth on Sunday. Their only hope of redeeming another awful campaign lies in the Europa League, where they face Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals, with victory in the competition providing a place in next season’s Champions League.

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