Newcastle United finally appear to be closing in on a new sporting director.
The position has been something of a curse at Newcastle United during the PIF era. Dan Ashworth didn’t last long in the role, before Paul Mitchell left even quicker than his predecessor.
The fact that Newcastle don’t have a sporting director is remarkable. This is a hugely important transfer window, though the person generally regarded as the one to oversee deals left at the start of it.
A lack of a sporting director looks indicative of a general malaise at the club. There have been barely any new signings, and updates on a new stadium or a move to a new training ground remain few and far between.
Still, it seems PIF are ready to come to something of a decision.
Newcastle United set to offer Ross Wilson the sporting director job
According to The Athletic, Newcastle are finally set to offer the job to Nottingham Forest’s Ross Wilson.
Wilson is the Chief Football Officer at the City Ground and is understood to have a good relationship with Eddie Howe.
The Newcastle United manager is involved in the process alongside the Newcastle United owners.
PIF have a long-standing interest in Wilson, who has previously held similar roles at Rangers and Southampton.
It’s thought that his ability to create a strong club culture and build infrastructure is seen as a good fit to work alongside Howe.
The best signings Ross Wilson made at Nottingham Forest
Wilson made some brilliant signings at Forest, including Elliot Anderson (from Newcastle of course) and Anthony Elanga (now at Newcastle).
Nikola Milenkovic and Callum Hudson-Odoi were also standout additions to the Forest squad, who helped the club qualify for European football for the first time in 30 years last season.
The idea of welcoming him to St James’ Park is exciting. Steven Gerrard has been impressed with Wilson too, having worked with him at Rangers.
Newcastle need to make progress off the pitch as well as on it. In finally deciding on their next sporting director, it feels like a positive step.
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