Premier League club ‘axe scouting department’ that has raked in over £200m for unearthing hidden gems in favour of ‘secretive data-driven model’

One Premier League side has reportedly undergone a major scouting overhaul, despite being one of the most highly-regarded departments in the division. 

The scouting network in recent years has brought some of the Premier League’s brightest talents to English shores, such as Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella, and Alexis Mac Allister. 

Their method of scouting in areas where they can beat the bigger sides to the punch has paid off in the extreme. 

For those three above players alone, the club raked in around £200million, while other signings such as Robert Sanchez have also moved on from the Amex in recent years. 

However, despite a number of impressive success stories at the club, Brighton are thought to have dispensed with a number of scouts in favour of a new data-driven approach. 

The Seagulls earned praise for their scouting work, unearthing the likes of Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister before selling them on for huge profits

According to The Telegraph, staff members were told that talent acquisition and player identification will operate in a new way, with three scouts leaving and others redeployed. 

Club sources have reportedly claimed that the South Coast outfit will be no more reliant on data than they previously had been. 

It is thought that owner Tony Bloom – who is known to rely on a closely-guarded data model – has recognised the brilliant work of those scouts that have left, though the move is believed to have caused intrigue and surprise amongst their rivals, sparking concerns over the future of scouting at an elite level. 

The report further adds that a number of appointments are expected to be made to bring numbers back up to their previous tally. 

It is thought to be part of Brighton’s move to stay ahead of the chasing pack, with a number of clubs aspiring to run their scouting departments like the Seagulls’. 

That is understandable given how the money made from unearthing, developing and then selling players has helped propel Brighton from relegation scrappers to European challengers.

Brighton work with Jamestown Analytics, an off-shoot of the Starlizard company who have ties with Bloom, and while they also work with other clubs, it is though that Brighton have exclusivity for certain data.

According to the report, a source told The Telegraph: ‘Scouting is far more than just spotting good players. It’s looking at a player live in terms of his leadership, willingness to run when the team is losing, finding out what kind of personality he has and talking to people about him. 

A source reportedly told The Telegraph that Tony Bloom ‘trusts data more than humans’

‘Is he on time every day or late to training? Data cannot pick all of that up and it’s hugely important when investing in players.

‘It is also often the scouts who develop relationships and build networks that lead to recommendations and tips about various players that, again, data may not be able to provide. Ideally, clubs use data alongside scouting and both can complement one another.’

Another added: ‘Useable data offered by humans isn’t as good as Tony’s data. At least, that’s what it seems like. It looks like he trusts data more than humans.’

Despite the changes the club are thought to have at least one member of staff in charge of carrying out ‘data and intelligence checks’ on players.