REPORT: Manchester United plot to poach Tottenham’s academy chief

Manchester United have history of plucking talents off the Tottenham Hotspur wage-bill.

Michael Carrick, Teddy Sheringham and Dimitar Berbatov have all headed north in recent years, but this time United are after Spurs' academy chief. With United's head of youth recruitment Derek Langley set to leave, the club are on the look-out for a replacement. According to The Times, United want John McDermott, who has been doing a stand-up job with the Londoners in recent years. They report:

'Manchester United have identified Tottenham Hotspur’s head of coaching and player development, John McDermott, as the man they want to revamp their academy. 'Tottenham would strongly resist any approach for McDermott and it is unclear whether he would want to leave. 'While the movement of technical staff between Premier League clubs is relatively rare, Tottenham poached Paul Mitchell from Southampton as head of recruitment last season, while they lost Frank Arnesen to Chelsea in 2005 in a deal that cost their London rivals £5 million in compensation.'

United are said to be losing out on top youth prospects to Manchester City so perhaps a fresh perspective is needed.