Manchester United fans will hope Kyle Macaulay will repeat some of the amazing transfers that have earned him such a positive reputation in the world of recruitment. United have hired Macaulay as their new head of senior scouting, with the 39-year-old set to start in his role from 5 January 2026.
He first worked with Graham Potter at Swedish club Ostersunds in 2012, where Macaulay spent six years as chief analyst during their remarkable rise from the fourth tier to the knockout stages of the Europa League. They also worked together at Swansea where he held the role of chief scout, and followed him to Brighton, where he worked as head of scouting. He then joined him at Chelsea in a chief analyst role and remained at Stamford Bridge under both Mauricio Pochettino and Enzo Maresca before they reunited at West Ham at the start of the year.
Macaulay has been involved in some great transfer deals in his career, and here is a look at some of the best.
1. Leandro Trossard
Brighton signed Trossard from Genk for roughly £15m, developed him into one of the most underrated attackers in the Premier League, and then sold him for a profit to Arsenal. | Getty Images
2. Moises Caicedo
Brighton won the race to sign Caicedo from Independiente del Valle for just £4.5m and then made over £100m in profit when he joined Chelsea. | Getty Images
3. Kaoru Mitoma
Brighton plucked Mitoma from Kawasaki Frontale and he has established himself as one of the best wingers in the Premier League. He is another they could sell for profit. | Getty Images
4. Marc Cucurella
Brighton paid just £15.4m for Cucurella from Getafe and sold him a year later for over £60m. It was a smart piece of business. | Getty Images