Norwich City legend Rob Newman is reportedly on the verge of becoming West Ham’s new director of football.
Football Insider claim that advanced talks have already taken place and that manager David Moyes approves of the appointment but that a deal has not yet been agreed.
The 57-year-old has been involved in the scouting set up at Manchester City since 2008, heading up their recruitment work in Spain previously and taking on senior roles, currently holding the position of international scouting and recruitment manager.
Newman is thought to still live in Norfolk and had been working regularly as a pundit for the Canaries last season, on the club’s matchday NR1 Live show, also previously coaching at Langley School alongside former teammate Darren Eadie.
The former defender made 249 appearances for City between 1991 and 1998, also being used in midfield and up front at times, and was part of the squad which finished third in the Premier League in 1993 and beat Bayern Munich in the Uefa Cup later that year.
Newman wound down his Football League career at Southend United and eventually became manager for 18 months in the fourth tier.
A short stint in charge of Gorleston followed in 2004 before becoming assistant manager at Cambridge United and picking up the reins following relegation from the Football League in 2005, leading the Us to mid-table but losing his job early in his second season.
He became former Norwich defender Kevin Bond’s assistant at Bournemouth for a couple of years but when that came to end was briefly a scout for Steve Bruce at Wigan before getting involved at Manchester City.
The report explains that the Hammers are looking to overhaul their recruitment structure, despite the club finishing sixth to qualify for the Europa League under Moyes last season.
Former Canaries coach and caretaker head coach Alan Irvine, 62, has stepped aside from his full-time role as assistant manager to become technical advisor but still remains an important part of Moyes’ staff.
Football Insider claim it is Newman that will fill the director of football role which has been vacant since December 2019.
Further Norwich links at West Ham are provided by first-team coach Paul Nevin, who worked at City under Chris Hughton, as well as Ricky Martin. The Canaries’ former academy manager and technical director stepped up to become the Hammers’ academy manager in 2019.
Former City under-23s coach Dmitri Halajko is also in charge of West Ham's U23s, joining two years ago after a couple of years in a senior academy role at Leicester.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here