Manchester United’s two leading scouts have left the club.
The club’s chief scout, Jim Lawlor, and Marcel Bout, the head of global scouting, have both departed the Premier League side,
The Athletic can reveal.
Lawlor joined United in 2005 and was promoted to chief scout in 2014. Bout came in under Louis van Gaal, initially as a coach before moving into scouting.
Both were big voices in United’s recruitment, which has been widely criticised in recent months. In a statement to
The Athletic, Manchester United said: “Jim Lawlor has decided to step down from his role as chief scout in the summer after 16 years with the club. “During that time, Jim played a key role in the development of multiple trophy-winning Manchester United teams and was an important source of guidance to Sir Alex Ferguson and each of the managers who have followed him.
“Jim leaves the club with our warmest thanks for his significant contribution and our very best wishes for the future. “Marcel Bout has departed from his role as head of global scouting after eight years with the club. A respected figure within and outside of Manchester United, Marcel has played an important part as an assistant coach and in the strengthening of our scouting capabilities in recent years. “Marcel leaves the club with our warmest thanks for his significant contribution and our very best wishes for the future.” The moves will be seen as a moment of change in United’s scouting structure and will attempt to streamline an operation that critics have said has become too top-heavy. John Murtough has full control of the football operations and has driven some of the changes as he seeks to help turn United around. Key to those changes will be the appointment of Erik ten Hag, who has reached an agreement in principle to become their next permanent manager,
as The Athletic revealed earlier this month.
How influential were the two men at Manchester United?
They were involved in many signings and, writing in his 2013 autobiography, Sir Alex Ferguson said: “Jim Lawlor, United’s chief scout, pointed out to us that it was a waste for Henrik Larsson to be playing in Sweden when he still had so much to offer on a bigger stage. “Helsingborg's, where Henrik was playing, would not sell him, but I asked Jim to ask their chairman what they would think about him coming on loan. Henrik pushed the boat in that direction with his employers.” Larsson, 35, was a cult figure among United’s players. Lawlor was also the scout who left a calling card for Javier Hernandez in Mexico. Lawlor had been tipped off about Hernandez by the former Mexican international footballer Marco Garces. He had spent four years studying for a sports science degree at Liverpool John Moore's University and became friends with Lawlor, who worked at the university before joining United. Garces returned to Mexico to work for Pachuca’s academy where Lawlor asked him to recommend Mexican players. The name Javier Hernandez came back in September 2009. Lawlor visited Mexico for three weeks in February and March 2010 to make an in-depth assessment of the player.