West Ham are close to the appointment of a new director of football according to numerous reports. The rumours were instigated by top in the know Fabrizio Romano on Twitter last night. Indeed, after swatting up on the candidate it would appear he’s the perfect fit for The Hammers.
The reports circulating contradict news given to Claret & Hugh yesterday evening. Hammers sources were keen to play down news of an imminent arrival, but that has not stopped the gossip.
Italian journalist Romano revealed the identity of the appointment to be none other than former Bayer Leverkusen chief Tim Steidten. Romano tweeted: West Ham are set to appoint Tim Steidten as new technical director — as sources close to club confirm. Deal done and almost sealed. Former Bayer Leverkusen director will try new experience in Premier League, as he was also considered by Tottenham.
A crucial appointment
Were this appointment to happen it would herald a new era and direction for the club. In recent years I have found myself casting envious glances towards the likes of Brighton and Brentford. Those clubs appear to have a cerebral and data driven recruitment process which has proven highly successful.
West Ham need to modernise or get left behind and Steidten’s credentials are excellent. Quite how this will impact manager David Moyes is anyone’s guess.
Steidten’s impressive CV
Simon Rolfes, managing director of sport at Leverkusen, explained the process which Steidten implemented. “We pre-filter players in some cases, especially in markets where we can’t watch every game. It’s all becoming a lot more intelligent, and you can do much more with data than just tracking passes,” he said. “For example, limb-tracking can be used in the future to find out how often players turn their heads to observe their environment,”
Impressive stuff, which is made all the more compelling when Leverkusen’s recent buying and selling is factored in.
I’m delighted to see the club looking to move forward, but it must not stop there. The Conference League victory has afforded us opportunity but we must grasp it.