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Manchester United have appointed former Manchester City scout Romain Poirot to 'identify world-class and emerging talent' in France, according to sources close to the talent spotter.

Old Trafford chiefs had been targeting a new first-team scout following the departure of David Friio last year and even publicly advertised the position earlier this summer.

The job advert stated that United wanted a scout 'to identify world-class and emerging talent for the club, ensuring a talent pipeline and a world class first-team squad'.

After an extensive search, they have plumped for Poirot, who has a decade of experience in the field after spells at City, Watford, Udinese, Nottingham Forest and others.

MEN Sport understands Poirot has already started looking for players with 'United DNA' following his appointment earlier this month.

Poirot previously referred to France as 'the new Brazil' because of the young talent coming through and United are keeping a close eye on the next generation following Les Bleus' World Cup win.

United completed the signing of midfielder Aliou Traore from PSG last year after tracking the 17-year-old's progress for some time and Poirot will be tasked with finding a similar profile of player to help the club save millions in the transfer market.

The Reds have previously paid the price for not spotting French players early enough or, indeed, for not giving them enough first-team opportunities when they were already on the club's books, as was the case with Paul Pogba.

Pogba and Anthony Martial could end up costing United up to £147m in transfer fees following their moves to Old Trafford in 2015 and 2016 respectively and Poirot’s appointment is designed to ensure that does not happen again.

Poirot previously worked as a youth and professional scouting consultant at City between 2010 and 2014, where he mainly watched players in his homeland but also in the Balkans and Scandinavia.

As well as taking in up to seven games on a given weekend, Poirot also took on a hands-on role when it came to dealing with players' agents and families.

Compatriots Samir Nasri, Olivier Ntcham, David Faupala, Seko Fofana and Thierry Ambrose all moved to the Etihad during his time at the club.

After four years working with City, Poirot was given a new role with the City Football Group, recommending players and coaches to New York City, Melbourne City and Yokohama F. Marinos.

Poirot, who started his career at Nottingham Forest, then took up a post as a European scouting consultant for Watford and Udinese under the Pozzo family before becoming the latest addition to United's now sizable scouting team.

The club's scouting network across Europe, South America and Asia has trebled in size in recent years as part of a behind-the-scenes shake-up under executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.

"This goes unseen and is not necessarily about bringing in more and more young players, but making sure that the correct due diligence is carried out before signings are made," a United source previously told MEN Sport.

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