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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Richard Fay

Kieran McKenna poaches Manchester United scout for Ipswich role

Former Manchester United assistant Kieran McKenna has raided his old club in order to get a new head of recruitment for Ipswich Town.

McKenna, 35, was appointed Ipswich manager back in December and has already managed to revive their play-off dreams with a steady run of results since taking over. While the aim for this season remains a promotion push, McKenna is keen to look at the long-term project he is overseeing and has gone back to United to lure Sam Williams to Portland Road.

Williams had worked for United since November 2017, most recently as a first-team recruitment analyst and an academy scout, where he worked alongside McKenna and his assistant, Martyn Pert.

READ MORE: Walking in the footsteps of Ramsey and Robson - how Kieran McKenna left Manchester United to win over Ipswich Town

Prior to joining United, he was a scout for Bolton Wanderers, previously spending time in the same role at Sheffield Wednesday. Williams will officially join the League One club on Monday 11 April and will play a leading role in the recruitment and scouting of players.

On his appointment, Williams told the official Ipswich website: "Mark Ashton really sold the club and it’s a really exciting time to be joining.

"It’s been a privilege to work for Manchester United and I’ve worked with fantastic people, but this was an opportunity I just couldn’t turn down.

"There’s a lot of work to be done between now and the end of the transfer window. I’m looking forward to the challenge and working together closely with Kieran [McKenna], Martyn [Pert] and Gary [Probert].

"We’re going to implement a very thorough and methodical process which will help provide the best available players to help us achieve our aims and ambitions, which is getting the Club back up the leagues."

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