'Thank you' - Farewell message as Manchester United close in on behind-the-scenes Newcastle United move
Manchester United are set to raid Newcastle United for their head of youth recruitment.
Newcastle United head of youth recruitment Paul Midgley is set to leave and take up a similar role at Premier League rivals Manchester United.
Midgley joined Newcastle in December 2022 following a brief seven-month spell as Manchester City’s Northern UK youth scouting manager.
Before that, Midgley spent two years as head of national academy recruitment at Leeds United and another two years in charge of lead recruitment at Sunderland’s Academy of Light.
Newcastle United head of youth recruitment set to join Manchester United
Midgley has overseen an influx of emerging talent in recent years as Newcastle look to bring its academy up to a top-level standard. It was recently announced that the club are planning a £1million revamp of the academy base.
But after three years, Midgley is set to depart his role and take up a similar position with Man United, according to the Daily Mail.
The Red Devils are looking to replace Luke Fedorenko, who last week took to LinkedIn to write a farewell message.
“After 9 incredible years, my time at Manchester United has come to an end,” Fedorenko wrote.
“I’m extremely grateful to everyone I’ve worked alongside during this journey. I’ve developed both professionally and personally, and I’ve been fortunate to learn from so many outstanding staff members, something I’ll always be thankful for.
“Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to experience moments few get to, travelling the world representing the club, watching Manchester United and our academy sides compete in finals, seeing 65,000 inside Old Trafford for a FA youth cup final , and witnessing young players develop through to first-team debuts. Just as special has been seeing staff progression and parents enjoying their sons’ journeys.
“A particularly meaningful moment came on my final day, when the first player signed back in 2017 made his debut, a full-circle way to close this chapter! #257
“Thank you to Manchester United and everyone involved along the way. It’s been a great rollercoaster of a journey, and a club that will stay in my heart forever. A new chapter begins in 2026.”
The last time Manchester United did off-field business with Newcastle United
Midgley is in line reunite with director of football Jason Wilcox and new academy chief Stephen Torpey, both of whom he worked with at Manchester City.
The switch could be met with some resistance by Newcastle, much like they did with Dan Ashworth. Ashworth was placed on gardening leave in February 2024 but it wasn’t until the end of June that the two clubs agreed a compensation package of £4.1million.
After that lengthy pursuit, Ashworth lasted less than six months at Old Trafford.
Speaking about Ashworth’s exit, co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said: "I don't want to go into the details of it because I don't think it serves much purpose. At the end of the day, it was chemistry. Maybe a bit more than chemistry, but let's just say chemistry and it didn't work. Just chemistry.
"I know it's an unpopular decision and it's seen as an error, and it was an error, but slightly in our defence, we did recognise it as something that would not work and therefore we decided we would make a change. What would have been far easier because of the scrutiny that we knew we would get in the media would have been to live with it, but I wasn't prepared to live with it."