Former Manchester United head of global scouting Marcel Bout told the club to sign Matthijs de Ligt seven years ago but believes they delayed in deciding on the player.
Bout, 61, arrived at the club alongside Louis van Gaal in the summer of 2014 and spent eight years at Old Trafford before leaving in 2022.
The Dutchman has since joined Newcastle United in a comparable capacity. Around the time of that appointment last year, Bout spoke to the Rotterdam-based daily newspaper Algemeen Dagblad about his almost decade-long tenure at United.
The scout shared his annoyance at how the club worked. READ MORE: De Ligt has already told United what they want to hear amid transfer links READ MORE: United hatch dream De Ligt transfer plan as 'offer' made for surprise target "I have been critical internally," Bout recalled. "A major annoyance was the long delays within United to make decisions about interesting players. "Other top European clubs now have top players that we had seen early on with the scouting staff.
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