18 November 2023 , 20:30
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Marcel Bout has made it his mission to find the next Erling Haaland or Jude Bellingham for Newcastle United.
Bout, the 60-year-old Dutchman who spent eight underwhelming years in various roles at Manchester United after following close friend Louis van Gaal to Old Trafford in 2014, has been made chief of global scouting at St James’ Park. In Holland, his appointment has been met by astonishment given his track record as a world-wide scout in Manchester - and his earlier incarnation analysing opposition teams.
But Bout has never lacked confidence - and he insists he is capable of saving the richest club in the world millions in the transfer market by identifying players with world-class potential. Bout said: “I am looking for the new Haaland, Bellingham and (Jamal) Musiala.
“I am focusing on young talent up to 23-years-old who have the potential to get into Newcastle’s first team. My motto is that if you constantly look to the left then you can’t see anything on the right. So I look everywhere. Newcastle have brought me in to find all the big talents. I want to find the pounds among the pennies.
“It is my ambition to not only point out those big talents, but also to put everything into place so these players immediately arrive at Newcastle United. I want to bring them in before they are worth £100 million.”
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Haaland and Bellingham both flourished at Borussia Dortmund (Getty Images)Bout was part of Van Gaal’s backroom staff when AZ Alkmaar claimed a shock Dutch title in 2009 and followed him to Bayern Munich. They linked up again in Manchester and Boult remained at United after his mentor was sacked after two years and appointed the club’s chief of global scouting.
The move failed miserably, with United blowing millions in the transfer market on players like Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Donny van de Beek and Jason Sancho. He was relieved of his duties 18 months ago - and was asked by Van Gaal to once again analyse opposition teams during Holland’s bid for World Cup glory in Qatar last winter.
Bout’s appointment on Tyneside has been met with raised eyebrows in his homeland. Bout said: “I am really happy that I can work again - and what a club to work for.
“Newcastle is some club. Only a few weeks ago Paris Saint-Germain was wiped of the pitch in Newcastle. I think I know why Newcastle knocked on my door. At Manchester United I had a similar role.
“The head of scouting Newcastle have in place is responsible for the players who go directly into the first team. But this club has grown so big that they need sufficient people to run the scouting department. You can’t find top-class players and top talent with potential at the same time.”