Man City have put Paul McLaren on gardening leave ahead of the talent spotter taking up a new position as Newcastle United's head of national youth scouting.
McLaren will link up with former colleague Paul Midgley, who left City to become Newcastle's head of youth recruitment, and will be responsible for overseeing the scouting of players aged between 13 and 18 across the UK. Given how McLaren has previously served as both a lead regional scout at City and a head youth scout at Arsenal, this represents a significant coup in the revamp of Newcastle's youth recruitment set-up.
City have unsurprisingly placed McLaren on gardening leave ahead of the 46-year-old taking up his new post in the summer, but ChronicleLive understands that the club have been 'fully supportive' of his decision and recognise it is a step up in role. In fact, tellingly, those at City have even wished McLaren well.
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McLaren, who previously served as an intermediary, will bring with him a wealth of experience in the game following a 18-year career as a professional footballer. The former midfielder made his name at Luton Town before enjoying spells at Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Tranmere Rovers, Bradford City and Oxford United.
McLaren's appointment is a key part of Newcastle's efforts to beef up their scouting team with Delroy Ebanks also set to join the club following his spell as head of youth recruitment at West Ham. Newcastle have advertised for overseas scouts, a head of data and insight, a lead video analyst, positional analysts, a head of emerging talent, a recruitment operations manager and a scouting lead in recent months.
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