Newcastle United could be set for a major blow with West Ham United keen on renowned talent spotter Steve Nickson. Nickson is believed to be on the Hammers' radar after their head of recruitment, Max Hahn, departed the London Stadium after relegation last season.
It is said that Hahn's replacement will have a bigger remit and presence, and Nickson, who has a sporting director qualification, would get more responsibility as the crisis-hit club look to bounce back to the top flight at the first attempt.
Nickson's Rise at Newcastle
Nickson has held the role of head of recruitment at Newcastle since 2017, when he was promoted by Rafa Benitez. The former Blackburn scout joined the club as an Academy talent spotter and worked his way to the frontline in the recruitment department. Nickson's initial brief at Newcastle was to find players that could have sell-on potential between the ages of 17 and 21.
Nickson has been working with Andy Howe in the scouting department for the last few years as well as former transfer chiefs Dan Ashworth and Paul Mitchell.
Key Signings and Praise
West Ham's interest is no surprise after the former Ewood Park man made a series of top signings on Tyneside. Nickson was singled out for praise by co-owner Amanda Staveley during her time as director at St James' Park. Speaking then, the Ripon financier said: "Fortunately, we have an amazing head of recruitment in Steve Nickson, who has been with the club for a long time and has a really deep knowledge of the player markets. So we were able to quickly put together a transfer committee."
Nickson was the key man in signings such as £40million star Joelinton and the bargain £33.3m signing of Bruno Guimaraes. But even when he was working with a limited budget under Mike Ashley, he delivered by sourcing talent such as Ayoze Perez from Tenerife for just £1.5m before he was sold to Leicester City for £30m.
Potential Blow for Newcastle
This wouldn't be the first attempted swoop for a member of Newcastle's backroom team after Man United tried to nab Paul Midgley last winter. Newcastle persuaded Midgley to stay with a role of more responsibility at the Academy but if Nickson does opt to head south, it would be seen as a hammer blow.
Sporting director Ross Wilson is trying to build Newcastle's scouting team in the background at Benton and has had the green light from PIF to have youth scouts in Germany, Holland, Portugal and France, but Nickson's experience and nous - not to mention his transfer acumen - would be a big miss.
