Newcastle United are looking for a new sporting director.
Dan Ashworth is no longer at Newcastle, of course, but his transfer to Manchester United has yet to be completed.
Nonetheless, what has been done in Ashworth is complete. No matter how long it takes for him to officially join the Old Trafford giants, his time at St James’ Park is done.
As you can expect, many names have been mentioned as prospective successors.
Though Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards appear to be on the verge of joining Liverpool, former Tottenham and Monaco manager Paul Mithcell has also been connected.
However, journalist Dean Jones believes Newcastle could look to someone closer to home.
Newcastle new sporting director: Steve Nickson latest
Jones intimated to GIVEMESPORT that the club was considering promoting head of recruitment Steve Nickson to the post, given the impression he had made behind the scenes.
“I’m told he really has been considered to step into the role that Dan Ashworth is leaving,” stated the source.
“Now, we have to be careful about speculating on this since different sources inside the club are currently offering different ideas, and I know they are absolutely looking into at least two other candidates for that position.
“But Nickson has impressed a lot of people at the club in terms of dealing with recruitment concerns, and if Eddie Howe is going to remain on as Newcastle, Nickson will probably stand an even better chance, given he gets on well with him.”
Steve Nickson: Newcastle head of recruitment has already been involved in big transfers
Last month, The Daily Mail provided some insight into Nickson’s efforts behind the scenes.
They claim Nickson’s outstanding relationship with agents and impressive depth of knowledge helped Newcastle complete deals for Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Kieran Trippier, and Allan Saint-Maximin.
He was also apparently substantially engaged in the additions of Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak.
Whether or not that is enough to make him a competent sporting director is debatable. However, Nickson has already played a vital role in the club’s successful recruitment and is said to have a tight relationship with Eddie Howe.
With that in mind, promoting from inside could be a good idea.
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