Manchester United is poised to bring on Paul Midgley, Newcastle’s head of youth recruitment, to assume a similar role at their academy, according to insights from Confidential.

The club has been on the hunt for a successor to Luke Fedorenko, who is currently on gardening leave and is set to transition to a new position with an agency.

After a thorough selection process involving over ten candidates, Midgley emerged as the top choice. His career path includes a stint with Newcastle, which he joined three years ago from Leeds, and a prior role as UK scouting manager at Manchester City. There, he collaborated with United’s director of football, Jason Wilcox, and their new academy leader, Stephen Torpey.

Midgley’s addition will follow closely on the heels of Torpey’s appointment as head of the academy in September, succeeding Nick Cox, who has moved on to become the technical director at Everton.

The academy at Carrington has been experiencing significant changes, with Fedorenko’s departure being one among several. Others leaving include Under-18s manager Adam Lawrence and Under-21s assistant coaches David Hughes and David Horseman.

Semenyo hope for Reds

Confidential revealed last week that United were prepared to enter the bidding for Antoine Semenyo in January and consider selling Joshua Zirkzee to help meet the Bournemouth star’s £60.5m release clause.

It appears the Reds are now locked in a three-way battle with Manchester City and Chelsea after Tottenham dropped out of contention and Liverpool sources confirmed there have been no active talks in recent days.

Semenyo’s release clause can be triggered up until January 10, after which clubs will have to wait until the summer – when the 25-year-old’s price drops closer to £50m.

Until Chelsea entered the fray late on Monday night, it looked like being a two-horse race between United and City – with Semenyo leaning slightly towards the blue side of Manchester.

However, United have found a way to get their man in the past, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Alexis Sanchez, Fred and Harry Maguire examples of players who seemed destined for the Etihad yet ended up at Old Trafford.

Zirkzee in no hurry

Zirkzee’s situation at United has been one to watch for some time, as first detailed in this column when it was revealed he was growing concerned about his limited role.

But mounting injuries, plus the disruption caused by the Africa Cup of Nations, mean it is premature to buy into talk of agreements and deals struck over in Italy.

Zirkzee came off the bench in the defeat at Villa Park on Sunday, and sources close to the player insist it is ‘too early’ to suggest an exit next month is guaranteed.

Bruno Fernandes’ hamstring injury, coupled with Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo’s presence at AFCON in Morocco, mean United are short of options in attacking midfield and Zirkzee is expected to come back into the fold for a more prominent role.

While neither the club nor those close to the player are ruling out anything – and Zirkzee is desperate for regular minutes to press his claims for a place in the Netherlands’ World Cup squad – don’t expect any swift resolutions.

All quiet on Conor

United have yet to hold talks with Atletico Madrid over Conor Gallagher, but are already aware that the Spaniards would prefer to sell him in a permanent £35m deal rather than agree a loan move to Old Trafford.

United enquired about 22-cap England midfielder Gallagher late in the summer window, and the former Chelsea man is among a number of options under consideration as Ruben Amorim looks to revamp his midfield amid uncertainty over the futures of Fernandes, Casemiro, Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo.

Confidential revealed last week that Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, Carlos Baleba, Tyler Adams and Joao Gomes are among the other midfield options being discussed.

Most of them wouldn’t be available until the summer but Gallagher, 25, is an option for January and so too former Wolves captain Ruben Neves, who is looking to leave Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal.

Bruno’s derby target 

United are increasingly confident that Fernandes’ hamstring injury is not too serious and their captain could be back in action inside a month.

Fernandes limped out of Sunday’s defeat by Aston Villa at half-time and now faces as a rare spell on the sidelines during the busy festive period – but could even be in contention for the Manchester derby on January 17.

With Mainoo also touch and go for the Boxing Day clash with Newcastle at Old Trafford, Mason Mount may have to drop back to provide some creativity in the absence of Fernandes.

At least Casemiro is available after missing the trip to Villa Park through suspension, and Amorim has another defensive midfielder in Ugarte or even Lisandro Martinez, who played there off the bench at Villa as a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency situation and more than held his own.

Any more injuries, however, and Amorim will have to explore his options with some more extreme than others.

There is now an increased focus on academy options with Under-21 captain Jacob Devaney avoiding serious injury when he was forced off on Friday night versus Borussia Dortmund II in the Premier League International Cup.

Devaney, who can play as a holding midfielder or as a centre back, has been one of the most consistent performers for the Under 21s and Confidential understands his injury was an impact one, causing pins and needles in the leg. He is already back in training.

Sekou Kone, a player many are eager to see pushed on, played well in that Dortmund game but is still building himself up after a lengthy spell out with a fractured eye socket sustained at Tamworth.

He remains raw, even if extremely talented. The expectation is that a loan move is still the most likely route for Kone in January.

Jim Thwaites, another highly-rated academy midfielder who was name-checked by Amorim early this year, is an option should he be able to shake off a knee and ankle issue that flared up in the Youth Cup game versus Peterborough United recently.

Orozco gives the ok

Speaking of midfielders, United have already agreed for one youngster to walk through the doors once he turns 18 and that is Colombia’s rising star Cristian Orozco.

The Colombia Under 17s captain has already visited Manchester, attended a match as a guest of the club, and visited both Old Trafford and Carrington.

‘It was amazing and I am really happy,’ he told FullDeportes Caribe this week, ahead of his move from Bogota-based side Fortaleza.

‘I got to train with the Under 18s and Under 21s for a few days and I was really happy because they treated me really well. Hopefully when I arrive it will be easier because I will know them.’

Stars lap up Xmas spirit

This is the time of year where players cherish their time off more than anything as they get to indulge in the Christmas spirit with family.

One of the hottest tickets in town for United players has been a trip to Lapland UK, nestled in the Cheshire countryside at Capesthorne Hall. Matheus Cunha and Fernandes have both taken their families along for the experience and are said to have loved it.

It was noted, too, that Fernandes did not seek any special treatment on his visit and instead just joined on to a general public grouping, which includes around nine other families.

Plus points for Amorim

Those who chose to take some positives from Sunday’s 2-1 loss at Aston Villa quickly found themselves shot down by supporters angry at ‘hollow’ moral victories following more dropped points. It was all a bit Bazball.

It was interesting, though, to see that in Opta’s ‘expected points’ table for the Premier League, United are third and only behind the current top two in Arsenal and Manchester City. The stats boffins at Opta believe on performance that Amorim’s side should be the best-of-the-rest outside of the title chasers.

Look further down that table and you’ll see Aston Villa, themselves a title contender, all the way down in 16th. Sadly for United and Amorim, expected points don’t equal prizes.

Fletcher’s fledglings

One of the knock-on effects of more academy players being bumped up to first-team duty is that every age group has had to get younger – something Darren Fletcher is tackling head on.

The former United midfielder, who is in his first managerial role leading the Under 18s, vowed when he arrived to prioritise player development over results. That has been evident thus far with Bendito Mantato, one player he has worked with, making the first-team squad at Villa.

In the past week, he handed Under 18s debuts to new goalkeeper Charlie Hardy as well as fellow 16-year-old Jaume Camacho. Defender Harley Emsden-James, 16, also made his debut from the bench against Birmingham, a game where 15-year-old pair JJ Gabriel and Kai Rooney both scored in a 6-0 win.

There is a sense across United’s academy that age is just a number when it comes to representing their youth teams.

Robbo fights for justice

Bryan Robson has thrown his weight behind the V11’s fight for justice after a team of ex-Premier League stars who were the victims of a financial abuse scandal visited the Houses of Parliament.

Danny Murphy, Andy Cole, Brian Deane, Rod Wallace and Craig Short are among the former players affected by the systemic failings exposed in the BBC documentary Football’s Financial Shame.

The V11 represent hundreds of footballers who were misled by independent financial advisers and accountants into investing money which landed them with huge tax bills.

They were at Westminster earlier this month to launch the V11 Foundation and lobby cross-party support for legislative change on how high-wealth individuals are dealt with by HMRC.

The group’s mission to protect young players and vulnerable people entering the game aligns closely with High Performance Individuals, the company Robson has founded with his business associate Simon Andrews.

HPI joined the delegation to Westminster and their work with the V11 has included introducing them to financial education experts MUNNY. ‘Bryan is passionate about helping the next generation make the best decisions,’ says Andrews.