Manchester United have appointed Kyle Macaulay as their new head of senior scouting, ending a four-month search for the role as part of a broader overhaul of the club's transfer strategy. Macaulay will oversee the senior scouts and report to Christopher Vivell, who was appointed permanently as director of recruitment in February after initially joining on a temporary basis.
Vivell, who reports to director of football Jason Wilcox, previously worked with Macaulay at Chelsea between 2022 and 2023, where Vivell served as technical director and Macaulay as head of scouting. The appointment is part of ongoing restructuring and modernisation of the scouting network at Old Trafford, with Vivell streamlining operations while retaining significant human scouting and analytical capabilities focused on emerging talent, supported by data.
Macaulay was available to join United after leaving West Ham in October. He has followed Graham Potter throughout his career, having worked at Swedish club Ostersunds, Swansea City, Brighton, Chelsea, and most recently West Ham. He spent six years as Ostersunds' chief analyst, where he first worked with Potter, and later served as chief scout at Swansea and head of scouting at Brighton.
During his time at Brighton, the club used its data model to sign players such as Moises Caicedo, Kaoru Mitoma, Marc Cucurella, and Leandro Trossard. Since Ineos invested in United, there has been increased activity in markets outside Europe, with signings including Sekou Kone from Mali in 2024, Diego Leon from Paraguay this summer, and a preliminary agreement to sign Colombian teenager Cristian Orozco.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has also invested in United's data department, hiring Michael Sansoni as director of data in the summer. Sansoni, a University of Southampton graduate, previously worked as senior performance engineer at the Mercedes F1 team, contributing to eight World Championship-winning seasons. He joined United two months before his appointment was officially announced, allowing him to be involved in summer transfers.
