The Ashley era is not fondly remembered. The club was a stripped back husk with the barebones of staff – behind the scenes and on the pitch.

With that in mind it’s a huge credit to the talent spotting ability that a member of staff from that era is playing such a vital role under the new ownership – and that staff member is United’s Head of Recruitment, Steve Nickson.

The ex-Celtic and Blackburn scout was appointed to his current role on 1 July 2017 replacing the outgoing Graham Carr. After a period of performing the same role for the U21’s, Nickson was promoted to ‘evaluate all aspects of United’s player recruitment function, including the processes and systems used for scouting players at all levels throughout the club to ensure Newcastle United is best positioned to achieve its targets in this and future seasons,’ as the club statement read at the time.

Corporate speak aside, and with approaching a decade in the role, the scouting systems and structures put in place by United’s Head of Recruitment are really starting to bear long-term fruit – with an ever-increasing list of stellar overseas buys being hits and very few misses.

Incredible Overseas Business

United’s starting lineup against Wolves on Wednesday night included six players signed from overseas and that Nickson played a role in bringing each player to the club is stating the obvious, but what is remarkable is the ‘hit’ rate at which the signings have been made.

There are varying degrees and contexts (Joelinton’s position, Tonali’s ban) to each signings level of success too but with United often stymied by PSR it’s imperative that they don’t have many misses in the transfer market.

Signing a player from overseas is always a risk – football is just different in this country – and you never know if a player is going to adapt. But Nickson has clearly identified players with the right character, who will understand the club, the region and the fans, as well as being technically gifted footballers.

Former mercurial winger Allan Saint-Maximin spoke about Nickson’s ‘sale’s pitch’ when he persuaded the Frenchman to sign for United in 2019, saying: ‘To be honest, it’s Steve Nickson, [he told me] the supporters have loved you at every club you have been at – but not like how the Newcastle fans have.

‘Steve Nickson did a great job with me. He talked with me in my home and explained some things to me about football, the way I play, the Premier League and a lot of things and he let me think differently.’

In a profile of the new hierarchy, written by the Athletic following the summer boardroom level restructuring, Nickson was said to have ‘always believed in the importance of psychological profiling and psychometric testing in player development and recruitment’, as evidenced above, but he has shown a willingness to take a risk when identifying a player too. 

With the player he is now, it’s easy to forget that when United signed Alexander Isak he was coming off a season in which he scored just SIX goals, having previously failed at Dortmund as a youngster. There were huge question marks over the £63m fee United paid to Real Sociedad in 2022 with many opposition fans and journalists lining up to condemn the amount paid. 50 goals in 80 appearances later he’s worth triple the fee paid at a minimum plus all the obvious footballing benefits.

Putting recency bias aside, some of Nickson’s greatest hits are:

• Ayoze Perez – Signed for just £1.5m, sold for £30m, scored 42 goals in 179 apps

• Joelinton – It was Nickson’s contacts with agency ROGON (essentially Big Joe’s agent) that allowed the deal to go through. Initially the £40m transfer looked like an embarrassing flop, the combination of the price tag and weight of expectation seemed too much for him. Now, he’s our Brazilian warrior who has a unique profile in the Premier League

• Bruno Guimarães – It’s easy to forget that the captain has been with us for three years now and that he was picked up for the absolute bargain fee of £33.5m. A full Brazil international signing for the club 19^thin the Premier League was unheard of and with the deal being completed in the final days of the January transfer window, Nickson jetted off to Brazil to push the deal through quickly, ensuring Lyon couldn’t change their mind about completing the transfer

• Martin Dubravka – His potential was identified by Rafa Benitez in 2018, but Nickson arranged for the deal to initially be a loan with an option to buy for £4m, accounting for the Czech league’s relative strength in the European leagues’ hierarchy, and there being no guarantees Dubravka could make the step up. Named Northeast Football writers’ player of the year in 2019 – it’s safe to say he adapted

Nickson’s Best Window

Undoubtedly Nickson’s best transfer window was in January 2022. An outlay of £85m was spent on six players that saved the club from relegation (the only club to do so after being winless in its first 14 games), transformed the culture at the club and laid the foundations for the upwardly mobile journey the club is currently on.

The moves were shrewd – Kieran Trippier arrived from under the noses of Man Utd who were very interested in acquiring his signature, bringing international level quality to the side. And Chris Wood, another player United were mocked for paying £25m for, weakened a direct relegation rival in Burnley and is proving his metal in the current Forest team.

Dan Burn has made over 100 appearances since his arrival and Matt target certainly played his part, on loan, in the second half 2021/22. It was a truly transformational window, one which former Newcastle co-owner Amanda Staveley spoke about in March 2022: ‘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 [in January]’

The Next Underrated Gem

With Newcastle flying high in the league and playing incredibly well, on paper it would be the ideal time to strengthen the squad from a position of relative strength. Nickson has played a role in signing every underrated gem United have picked up in recent windows – including Anthony Gordon, another who we were told we overpaid for.

Paul Mitchell, United’s Sporting Director, is also said to be a man who likes to unearth underrated or underappreciated players, so Nickson and his football talent spotting abilities should align well, and when United are clear of PSR issues, I would expect to see more names in the mould of Abdukodir Khusanov linked to the club.

However, Nickson has also overseen the arrival of truly top, known quantity talents in Sven Botman and Sandro Tonali. Hopefully, the next player of that quality that signs for United isn’t too far away. Nickson’s track record would suggest he will identify the right characters – over to you Paul Mitchell.