Manchester United get revenge on Newcastle United after January snub as 23y/o scout snapped up
Manchester United have snapped up one of Newcastle United’s academy scouts ahead of the 2026/27 season.
Manchester United have headhunted one of Newcastle United’s academy scouts for a key recruitment role.
Harvey Busby joined Newcastle as an academy player recruitment analyst back in 2023 before progressing to become the club’s lead academy technical scout at just 23-years-old.
Busby played a key role in helping transform Newcastle’s younger academy age groups with the recruitment of top young talent despite stiff competition. Newcastle’s Under-14s and Under-15s sides have recently won three pieces of silverware between them in the past month.
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Spotting his potential and ability as an academy scout, Manchester United swooped in to offer Busby a new role at the club’s lead national scout from under-14s to under-18s, as per The Daily Mail.
Busby’s progress at Newcastle and being headhunted by Manchester United shows the pathway for non-playing staff to get involved in key roles at professional football clubs at a young age.
Man United’s move comes after Newcastle’s head of youth recruitment, Paul Midgley turned down an offer to move to the north west earlier this year.
Midgley joined Newcastle in 2022 after a brief stint at Manchester City, but turned down the opportunity to become Manchester United’s new academy head of recruitment. The Red Devils later promoted Connor Hunter to the role, replacing Luke Fedorenko.
Newcastle will now be looking to replace Busby, with the club’s academy recruitment drive expected to continue heading into the summer, with dozens of young players targeted.
The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, Newcastle’s majority owners, values the importance of a strong academy set-up in building for the future while also establishing a sustainable model to comply with financial rules.