Newcastle United complete major move as Manchester United, Arsenal & West Ham men sign

Newcastle United’s academy has undergone a major transformation following the appointment of 13 new staff members.

Since being appointed as sporting director last year, Dan Ashworth has been tasked with altering the academy structure to rival their Premier League counterparts.

Previously, the academy was overlooked by Mike Ashley but the club’s owners - the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, PCP Partners and RB Sports & Media - have stuck to their promise of delivering investment at all levels.

Over the last six months or so, United have created - and recruited - a number of scouting and recruitment roles to be based across England as a way of improving academy productivity.

And according to Training Ground Guru, that recruitment drive has now been completed ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.

Paul Midgley (Head of Head of Youth Recruitment) and Paul McLaren (Head of National Youth Scouting 13s to 18s) have joined from Manchester City, while Edward Black (Lead Academy Scout U9s to U14s), Delroy Ebanks (Academy Lead Scout for the South of England), Andy Basterfield (North West Regional scout) and Claire Burrows are among those to join from Arsenal, West Ham, Manchester United and Leicester City, respectively.

Staff promoted from within are Paul Baker (Lead North Scout), Glenn Craggs (Head of Local Recruitment), Drew Beardsley (U5-U11 Recruitment Officer) and Michael Hutchinson (U9-U14 Assistant Local Professional Club Scout). Other employees are Dean Edwards (North West West Regional scout), Amos Mukiza (Midlands Regional Scout), Ross Thorpe: (Midlands Regional Scout), Abdul Habib (London/ South East Regional Scout), Dan Risk: (London/ South Regional Scout) and Andy Gill (South West Regional Scout).