Steve Nickson frustrations go public as Paul Mitchell prepares changes - Report

As reported by Craig Hope at The Mail, Newcastle's head of recruitment Steve Nickson is understood to have been left frustrated by the arrival of Paul Mitchell which has limited his role at the club.

Nickson has been at Newcastle since 2011 and over the last decade has helped to unearth some gems for the first-team, despite many expecting him to be moved on following the PIF-backed takeover.

However, Nickson has proved his worth over the last three years, though he is now disappointed with the reduction in responsibility as sporting director Mitchell took the reigns a few months ago.

Following the departure of Dan Ashworth, Newcastle were in need of a new sporting director and Nickson himself had been taking action to fill the role, with Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi big fans of his work ethic and eye for talent.

Despite Mitchell now diluting his role after claiming our transfer strategy was 'not fit for purpose', Nickson is still willing to get his head down and work hard for the club he has spent 13 years at.

So, it seems he could well stay as part of a new recruitment and scouting structure Mitchell is working on behind the scenes to level up our performance off the pitch, but it'll be interesting to see how he fits and if the changes ultimately work for Nickson after a testing few months on Tyneside.