scouts Marcel Bout and Jim Lawlor have both announced their departures from Manchester United, the club announced.

As part of Louis van Gaal's backroom team in 2014, Bout remained with the club and was promoted to the position of head of global scouting the following year.

Lawlor served as Manchester United's senior scout for 16 years, but the club has had a poor record in terms of recruitment in recent years.
After eight years at Manchester United, Marcel Bout has left his position as head of global scouting. An established figure both within and outside of Manchester United, Marcel has played a significant role in the development of our scouting capacities and as an assistant coach.

"After 16 years with the club, Jim Lawlor has decided to stand down from his position as chief scout in the summer. Jim had an essential role in the building of several trophy-winning sides, and he was a valuable source of counsel for Sir Alex Ferguson and each of the managers that came after him."

Many were perplexed by the choice to keep Bout because he had worked with Van Gaal throughout his two years as manager, during which time United made 13 acquisitions, with back-up goalkeeper Sergio Romero being the most successful of them.

Bout's appointment was supported by former executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, who cited his expertise in attracting younger customers and his knowledge with Dutch talent. Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard were on hand to scout the fight.

In 2010, Lawlor was credited with being the one who tracked down Javier Hernandez. The £6million Mexico striker was instrumental in helping United win two Premier League titles during Sir Alex Ferguson's final three years in charge of the club. Henrik Larsson's loan from Helsingborgs was Lawlor's first high-profile transfer, which took place in 2006 and garnered widespread attention.

Despite being championed by former executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, technical chief scout Mick Court is reported to be in charge of a small team in the recruitment department. In 2018, Javier Ribalta, a former Juventus scout, quit Manchester United after only a year on the job.

Although the club appointed John Murtough as football director and Darren Fletcher as technical director in March last year, it is widely believed that Matt Judge, the director of transfer negotiations, is the primary point of contact for United's recruiting.