Hammers News picture shows forgotten man Rob Newman is still very much involved at West Ham

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A Hammers News picture shows forgotten man Rob Newman is still very much involved at West Ham amid uncertainty over his role.

Going into deadline day all the focus was on West Ham majority owner David Sullivan, technical director Tim Steidten and of course manager David Moyes.

So what about Rob Newman? Remember him Hammers fans?

Well West Ham’s so-called “head of recruitment” is still around despite speculation he could well be on his way following the arrival of Steidten.

Rob Newman, remember him?

Especially after the German oversaw a massive upturn in West Ham’s transfer success rate following some unsuccessful signings on Newman and Moyes’ watch in recent years.

It was that poor performance in the transfer market which prompted the West Ham board to hire Steidten in the first place.

Before the January window, a reporter close to Sullivan claimed Newman looked set to be on his way out of West Ham.

Then a couple of weeks ago a report rather randomly stated Newman had been sent on a mission to scout players at AFCON.

Many have raised question marks over what role Newman plays now given Steidten’s position leading recruitment. Some have even suggested he is effectively on unofficial “gardening leave”.

Forgotten man still very much involved at West Ham

But this Hammers News picture shows forgotten man Newman is still very much involved at West Ham.

Moyes is regularly seen having chats with Steidten on the pitch at the London Stadium before games.

And we can confirm that on the afternoon of deadline day, Newman was with the West Ham first team squad during a pre-match meal.

The “head of recruitment” then left to head to the game against Bournemouth as West Ham failed to bring in any further signings beyond Kalvin Phillips.

Newman chatted with Hammers squad staff on his way out of the pre-match meet up before heading to the ground.

Precise role unclear

It’s not clear what role Newman plays nowadays. His original title after joining from Man City simply cannot be an accurate role description in the new structure under Steidten.

And if the owner and Steidten were working on any last gasp deadline day deals, Newman’s presence around the first team that evening suggests he’s not overly involved in transfers.

Although it may be that he was acting as a conduit between Moyes and the board given the manager’s focus on a Premier League match that evening.

Newman was very much a Moyes appointment. And Steidten is Sullivan’s man. So only they know the inner workings of this setup.

There were no complaints about it in the summer after what was deemed an excellent window.

But without knowing his precise function within the Hammers framework, it’s difficult to judge whether Newman is serving an important purpose. Or whether he is now just used as a glorified scout?

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