Gareth Whalley officially joins Manchester United

Manchester United’s recruitment under Omar Berrada is starting to look less like a hiring drive and more like a mass hiring from Manchester City.

Berrada arrived from The Citizens in July 2024 as United’s new CEO, the cornerstone of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s football restructure.

Jason Wilcox followed as director of football in June 2025, his roots running deep at City’s academy despite a more recent spell at Southampton.

Stephen Torpey arrived as academy director in August 2025, again from Manchester City, as Alan Wright joined as assistant coach to the Under 21s.

Darren Hughes, a former Torpey colleague at City and Liverpool, was appointed head of academy football development and methodology in March.

That’s five ex-City figures embedded across United’s football and academy operation since the INEOS era began.

Now The Daily Mail has reported that there is a sixth in the form fo Gareth Whalley

Gareth Whalley has been brought in as Manchester United’s new head of loans, joining earlier this season on a part-time basis.

Whalley spent 15 years as Manchester City’s loan co-ordinator from 2011 until his recent exit.

His arrival fills the gap left by Jonny Evans, who stepped down as head of loans and pathways in December after six months in the role before joining Michael Carrick’s first-team staff.

Whalley and Wilcox worked together at City’s academy, including a stint running the Under 18s together in 2014, and now the path from the Etihad youth setup to Carrington is now well-trodden.

Whalley’s CV does boast some impressive work though at City, as he oversaw the loan development of James McAtee, Joe Hart, Pedro Porro, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Patrick Roberts.

United’s 2025/26 loan record is mixed, as Harry Amass at Sheffield Wednesday and Dan Gore at Rotherham have flourished, however Sekou Kone at Lausanne-Sport and Ethan Wheatley at Bradford have struggled.

Now, Whalley will be taking the lead on United’s summer plans, with many of the young stars looking set for further loan spells to support their development.