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With Omar Berrada joining Manchester United from Manchester City as the new Chief Executive Officer, it marks another key member of staff who has defected from City to United over the years.
Dave Harrison, who hold’s the role of lead scout for emerging European talent, joined from City in 2019 and has had a massive impact on the club since joining Old Trafford. Alejandro Garnacho and Willy Kambwala are both players who have joined the club thanks to his recruitment.
Lyndon Tomlinson also joined United at the same time as Harrison, although has since moved on. When he arrived from the Etihad, Tomlinson headed up the youth recruitment programme and he and Harrison were considered some of the best coaches the Citizens had.
Previously it was reported that senior sources at Manchester United expressed that whenever roles became available at Old Trafford, the club were “inundated with applications from Manchester City employees”.
Now, two more are also added to this ever growing list with Jason Wilcox and Toby Craig, also having previously worked at the Etihad, joining the Red Devils as technical director and chief communications officer respectively.
Addressing this phenomena, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the Manchester City chairman, has come forward to express his thoughts on the staff defecting from the blue to red side of the city.
Speaking to City’s in-house media team at the end of the season, The Mirror have reported Al Mubarak’s address, saying that the situation makes him feel proud, adding “it tells you we are very good at what we do at every level”, suggesting that the other clubs are aspiring to be like them by poaching their staff.
He continued, “When you see, and I use the word graduates, players at the academy level, players at the first team level leave and go and have successful careers. Coaching staff, medical staff, physios, senior executives that are being sought after by the best teams in the world.
“I think if anything, that’s testament that we’re on the right track.
“It confirms a) that we’re doing it right, b) the people, c) that we have a system, that we have great leadership, that we have great management and a system that continues to produce talent at every level.
“Every aspect of the business of football, from coaching to playing to managing. When you look at people that get an offer for a great job at another club, of course you understand.
“It’s natural people will take other challenges.
“But I think one thing that I will hopefully always feel is that when they leave, they leave with appreciation for the time they spent at the club.
As a final note to his comments, he added “They leave with respect for how this club has helped them in their careers and they’ll always have, I think, a positive memory of the time we spent.
“We stay friends. I think that’s important.
“So, you know, I understand that of course we’re going to defend and the people that we want to keep, we will do everything we can to keep. Sometimes we can’t win them all. But, it’s a natural evolution.”
The ultimate question is, with Man City having dominated the English Premier League in recent years, can the movement of staff from the Citizens to the Red Devils help United to relive their glory days once more?
