Eddie Howe has confirmed that first-team analyst Mark Leyland will join Man City at the end of the season, while West Ham’s Delroy Ebanks and Man City’s Paul McLaren will join our scouting team at youth level.
Leyland has been at the club just 18 months after joining from Liverpool, but will now take on a ‘new international position’ at the Etihad, where he will work across various clubs owned by the City Group.
The analyst is described as ‘elite’ by Eddie Howe, who he worked with previously at Burnley, but the Toon boss reluctantly accepts it’s “part of growing” to sometimes lose members of staff to top clubs.
However, the Magpies are set to announce two behind-the-scenes additions, with Man City’s Paul McLaren set to take up a role as head of UK scouting for Under-13-18s.
In another addition, West Ham’s Delroy Ebanks will also become part of our new national scouting team, working as our lead scout in the South alongside Paul Baker (lead scout in the North) and head of youth recruitment Paul Midgley.
Here’s what Howe had to say on Leyland’s exit, confirming he’ll leave for Man City in a few months:
“He’ll leave us at the end of the season, but he’ll work through to then.
“Losing key members of staff is never ideal, but I’ve been here many times before when that’s happened. It’s part of growing.
“People will always be looking for elite members of staff – and that’s one of the things we have to be aware of I think.
“Mark goes, but he’ll go with our best wishes. He’s currently here, and fully committed to our journey.”
