Sources: Lange fires senior Aston Villa duo in face-to-face meetings
Aston Villa sporting director Johan Lange fired two of the club's longstanding scouts on Friday, Football Insider can reveal.
This site broke the news on Wednesday (12th May) that the club had instructed talent spotters Mick Brown and Alan Wood to attend the club's training headquarters on Friday.
A Villa source has told Football Insider that the senior pair had face-to-face meetings with Lange and were told their services were no longer required.
It was the first time either of them had met, or even had a conversation, with Lange.
The Danish recruitment chief, 41, was appointed in July of last year, while Brown and Wood have each been working for Villa for around five years.
The pair were told the club are "going in a different direction" in terms of their assessments of potential new signings.
The source explained that the club's plan is to put more emphasis on recruitment from analysts and number crunchers.
It is a surprise given the experience of Wood and Brown, and the esteem in which they are held in the industry.
The Midlands giants are also gearing up for what Football Insider revealed last month is expected to be another summer of major spending.
Owners Wes Edens and Naseef Sawiris will fund another big recruitment drive as they look to establish Villa as top-six club.