Sources: Newcastle agree deal to hire Man City recruitment expert Paul McLaren
Newcastle United have agreed a deal to hire Man City talent spotter Paul McLaren, sources have told Football Insider.
City’s national youth scout manager is heading to the north-east giants in a newly-created recruitment role as they step up plans to overhaul their entire transfer set-up.
McLaren has agreed terms with Newcastle and he is heading to join them.
Newcastle are looking to strengthen their recruitment department with a series of newly-created roles including head of emerging talent, head of UK & southern scouting.
McLaren’s role will be head of UK scouting at U13-18 age group and he will be working under head of youth recruitment Paul Midgley.
The former Luton and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder is highly regarded within scouting circles having worked at Arsenal prior to his move to Man City in 2017.
Newcastle were taken over by Saudi-led consortium PIF in October 2021 and have been undergoing massive transformation since then.
Eddie Howe’s side have already made several big signings, including Alexander Isak who joined from Real Sociedad last summer for a club-record fee of £63million.
Howe’s side also made it to their first cup final since 1999 this season but were ultimately beaten 2-0 by Erik ten Hag’s Man United.
The Magpies are currently fifth in the Premier League table and only four points behind Tottenham but with two games in hand and are on course for a spot in one of Uefa’s European competitions.
On 14 February, Football Insider revealed that the Magpies will bolster their squad with a number of top-quality signings this summer if they secure European qualification.
Targets under 24 are a top priority for Howe as he looks to bolster his squad ahead of the summer window and push further up the league for seasons to come.
In other news, Kieran Tierney tipped to agree £30m Newcastle move after what Agbonlahor has seen – ‘get it done’.