MANCHESTER UNITED have been hit by the departure of a key member of staff, reports suggest.The Red Devils’ head of academy recruitment, Luke Fedorenko, is set to leave the club after almost nine years working for United.LinkedinLuke Fedorenko is set to leave Man Utd after almost nine years with the club[/caption]GettyHe has helped to unearth the likes of JJ Gabriel[/caption]According to The Athletic, Fedorenko has accepted a role to work for a major football agency.Fedorenko joined the club as an academy lead scout in 2017 after joining from Sheffield United, where he was head of academy recruitment between the ages of seven and 18.That move came as part of Project Bethlehem, an initiative to expand and modernise the club’s recruitment staff following criticism of the club’s academy being underfunded and falling behind rivals.He was then promoted to head of local recruitment in 2021 and held that position for just over two years.The 35-year-old then became the club’s head of academy recruitment in August 2023, helping to build a new recruitment team and pushing the use of modern data and video scouting.Several high-profile young players have been brought to the club under Fedorenko’s leadership.These include the poaching of Arsenal youngsters Chido Obi Martin and Ayden Heaven.Meanwhile, the likes of Bendito Manato, Jayden Kamason and JJ Gabriel – the 14-year-old who has been dubbed as “kid Messi” – have also become prominent figures in the academy amid hopes of eventual first-team integration.BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UKUnited have benefited from over £200million in player sales from academy stars during Fedorenko’s time at the club, which has been a massive benefit to United’s PSR requirements. Fedorenko is not the only major change on the books behind the scenes at United, with former academy director Nick Cox departing to become the technical director of Everton in the summer. Cox was replaced by Steve Torpey, and the departure of Fedorenko – whom the club did not want to leave – will now give him the chance to form his own leadership team.Another change has seen Ben Parker start a role as United’s head of performance analysis on Monday (October 6) replacing Paul Brand, who had remained in the role until Parker started after informing the club he was leaving in May.MAN UTD RATINGS VS SUNDERLAND: Mount has best United display in Prem but Dalot is weak link against SunderlandMASON MOUNT and Benjamin Sesko were on target as Manchester United beat Sunderland 2-0.The Red Devils eased the pressure on Ruben Amorim as they bagged a much-needed win.But who was United’s best player at Old Trafford?Find out how SunSport’s Katherine Walsh rated the Red Devils here.