Man Utd 'closing in on key appointment' in Premier League raid

Manchester United are reportedly on the brink of appointing Brentford academy director Stephen Torpey.

The Red Devils are believed to be finalising the deal for Torpey as a replacement for Nick Cox, who left the academy after nine years to take up the role of technical director at Everton.

Cox was instrumental in the revival of United's academy during his tenure, securing top youth signings and leading the team to an FA Youth Cup victory in 2022.

Torpey took over as Brentford's academy director in January 2024, tasked essentially with building their academy from the ground up and achieving Category One academy status.

Despite spending only a year-and-a-half in London, he now lookg set to make the move up north, according to the Manchester Evening News.

Before joining Brentford, Torpey spent nearly a decade at Manchester City in various roles, most notably working closely with Jason Wilcox, United's director of football.

He joined City in 2014 and gradually climbed the ranks within their academy, eventually becoming the head of coaching between the Under-15 to Under-23 age groups in 2020, where he oversaw several trophy wins.

The 43-year-old is credited with helping City adopt a Barcelona-style coaching system, which has seen the club's youth teams win trophies playing a style of football similar to that of their first team.

Torpey has been instrumental in the development of City's young talents such as Cole Palmer, James McAtee and Rico Lewis, all of whom have made their senior debuts under Pep Guardiola. His responsibilities also extended to player recruitment, where he was part of a team that pitched to potential new signings.

Following a humble playing career that started at Liverpool, Torpey transitioned into coaching and found his way back to Anfield. As a graduate of Liverpool's academy, he was warmly welcomed back and contributed significantly to the youth system during its transformation under the Spanish influence of Rafael Benitez.