Steve Nickson confirmed at Wrexham - How much will Newcastle miss him?
Steve Nickson wants to help take Wrexham to the Premier League after being confirmed as their sporting director, following 15 years at Newcastle.
We reported his planned move back in July. His new job covers recruitment and squad planning, but also the academy and wider football operations.
Speaking about the challenge, Nickson said his focus would be on:
“building the structure, talent pathways and football operations needed to support the Club’s ambition of reaching the Premier League.”
Nickson’s Newcastle record
Nickson stepped up from under-21 scout to head of recruitment in 2017, following Graham Carr’s departure. Newcastle put him in charge of organising player recruitment across the club, working alongside Rafa Benitez and Lee Charnley to review the scouting setup.
There were significant deals along the way. When Miguel Almiron signed in January 2019, Charnley publicly thanked Nickson and his recruitment staff for helping deliver a player Rafa had wanted for a year.
Three years later, Nickson travelled to Brazil to help complete Bruno Guimaraes’s move, according to Sky Sports. The midfielder was away on international duty at the time.
Steve Bruce also credited Nickson and Charnley with arranging the Joelinton deal before he became manager.
Sven Botman is another well-documented example, plus driving the recruitment of youngsters such as Antonio Cordero and Vakhtang Salia. His work was not confined to established first-team names.
Wrexham are getting experience in youth scouting as well as someone who has helped get major first-team deals over the line.
How much will we miss him?
His influence had reportedly reduced before he left. As we covered in June, The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards said Nickson had not been leading transfers for some time.
Ross Wilson has held the broader sporting director role since his appointment last October, with responsibility for sporting strategy, development and recruitment across the men’s, women’s and academy teams.
The direct scouting succession is less clear. We reported interest in Borussia Dortmund’s Sebastian Krug in August, but have not verified a completed appointment or a named like-for-like successor.
On the available reporting, I see this as the loss of useful experience rather than a reason to panic about Newcastle’s recruitment. Nickson deserves our thanks for his contribution, and the chance to take on a new challenge with a wider remit makes sense for him.
Good luck to him.
