Sir Jim Ratcliffe to cut Man Utd scouting team in next round of lay-offs as INEOS target 'streamlining' of recruitment team

Manchester United are set for another round of cost-cutting with Ratcliffe plotting 200 more redundancies, according to The Observer. The club's co-owner is expected to make "considerable cuts" to the scouting department of 80 staff in his latest cost-cutting drive. Ratcliffe plans to restructure the department and will appoint former Chelsea technical director Christopher Vivell as the new head. The number of scouts is set to be reduced by a "sizeable proportion" with "data-driven assessment of players" now becoming more widely used.

Ratcliffe's latest redundancies could well affect the club's recruitment plans at a time when head coach Ruben Amorim has openly admitted the club's financial situation means they must sell before they can buy. United's scouts are tasked with finding talent for the academy as well as identifying potential first team players for the Red Devils. The club's academy has famously provided a homegrown player for every match-day squad since 1937, with legendary stars such as George Best, Bobby Charlton, David Beckham and Ryan Giggs all having come through the system.

Amorim spoke about the lack of funds available for transfers ahead of United's clash with Tottenham. He told reporters: "To do something we need to sell players. We cannot do [signings] now. The window is closed. We need to focus on the games that we have, especially the next one, and then in the summer we will see."

Amorim has also warned his players that people are losing their jobs at United because "we are not winning, we are not in the Champions League, so the revenues are not the same." The Red Devils will try to pick up a win on Sunday when they take on fellow under-performers Spurs.