Ipswich Town appoint Manchester United man in off-the-field role

Manchester United’s first-team recruitment analyst Sam Williams has joined Ipswich Town as the League One outfit’s head of recruitment, as detailed in a report from the East Anglian Daily Times. 

The report states that Mark Ashton hired Williams following a conversation with the Premier League outfit’s technical chief scout Mick Court, whilst further recommendations from Kieran McKenna and Martyn Pert also played a part. 

Graduating with a degree in Management and Leisure in 2009, before completing a masters in Performance Analysis in Sport, Williams joined the Red Devils as a Performance Analyst in November 2017, before stepping up to the first team a year later. 

Arriving at Portman Road ahead of the summer, Williams will work alongside Andy Rolls (director of performance), Gary Probert (director of football operations), Luke Werhun (chief operating officer), Alex Hood (first team recruitment analyst), Scott Mitchell (head of academy recruitment), Charlie Turnbull (head of analysis) and Will Stephenson (head of performance analysis) to best prepare for the rigours of next season. 

The verdict 

Considering that the club’s recruitment last season was dealt with by the likes of Ashton and Paul Cook, this appointment will certainly take some pressure off McKenna.

Also, it would appear that a summer like the last one will not become the norm, with 19 players arriving at Portman Road ahead of this campaign.

Ultimately, other clubs are becoming smarter and smarter when it comes to recruitment, with the addition of Williams certainly suggesting that the club will be taking a step in that direction.

It will be interesting to see how the club recruits this summer because as things stand, promotion back to the Championship is