After missing out on Newcastle’s highly-regarded talent-spotter Steve Nickson, West Ham are said to be on the verge of appointing Nils Koppen as director of football – so let’s take a look at his transfer strategy.
West Ham look set to miss out on Steve Nickson to Championship rivals Wrexham or Birmingham City.
Hammers News reported last weekend that Nickson risked the wrath of new West Ham chief Daniel Kretinsky by agreeing to join the east Londoners only to pull out.
Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth had reassured West Ham fans after that shocking Nickson twist, revealing the Hammers still hoped to announce his arrival but that they had other options if it did not transpire.
Incoming West Ham DoF Koppen has global transfer strategy
Now it seems Kretinsky and co have settled on Belgian recruitment brain Nils Koppen as the alternative to Nickson.
Football Insider was first to report West Ham are in advanced talks with Koppen, who is currently technical director at Danish club Copenhagen.
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Koppen also held a similar role at Scottish giants Rangers previously, where he worked with West Ham’s interim CEO Karim Virani.
That will raise questions whether West Ham are filling the director of football role with the best man they can get or merely because of his connections with Virani.
Especially as Rangers and Copenhagen have hardly been renowned for their stellar recruitment in recent years.
So what does Koppen stand for in terms of recruitment and what might he bring to the London Stadium as Nuno Espirito Santo faces a major rebuild under the pressure of an immediate return to the Premier League following relegation.
Here’s what incoming West Ham DoF Koppen has said about transfer strategy previously.
Koppen does have pedigree in terms of the clubs he has worked for.
Koppen focuses on bringing in the right characters
As well as Rangers and Copenhagen, he has previously held senior roles at PSV Eindhoven and KRC Genk.
When at Ibrox, Koppen said Rangers must be ‘creative’ in securing players from across the globe with the right hunger and personality to represent the club.
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“I think everyone is aware that the idea is to bring the average age of the squad down and getting more assets into the club,” Koppen told Rangers’ website about his strategy.
Koppen said he believes it is a delicate balancing act targeting players who are yet to enter their peak but also boast the sufficient personality to handle the demands of the club.
He secured the services of young forward Hamza Igamane and full-back Jefte who arrived from Morocco and Brazil respectively.
Those arrivals were also supplemented by experience in the form of defender Robin Propper from the Eredivisie, while winger Vaclav Cerny arrived having starred in both the Netherlands and Germany.
West Ham can get a taste of what might be to come and it seems more foreign imports from lesser scouted leagues.
But he gives a lot of attention to making sure he brings in the right personalities.
“It’s important to look all over the globe where we can compete financially to get the best talents to the club,” Koppen added.
“We also don’t want to lose the focus on Scotland and the local market. I think to look worldwide gives us more opportunity to sign these talents and everyone realises that the UK market for us is getting difficult financially.
“We need to be more creative, think outside of the box and look for profiles that are suitable for our league even if they’re from Brazil or Morocco.
“It’s a challenge but it’s not only Brazil and Morocco; we want to look worldwide to where we think we can have success. It’s a big advantage to get that desire into the dressing room and hunger to take the next steps.
“It’s a good thing to have that burning desire, but also we’re looking for winners and players who can raise the standards on and off the pitch.
“It doesn’t matter if they’re 18 or 25-years-old – it’s a key thing to have in a place like this.
“It’s something that we try to look at, but it’s also the most difficult thing to judge as a recruiter or a scout. You need to watch them in several circumstances, including during top games and more easy games.
“We need to fly all over the world to meet them in-person and do a lot of Zoom calls where the manager is involved.
“In a way we need to screen their personality, but it’s still the most difficult thing to judge… I think it’s something that we put a lot of attention on.”
Koppen was at Rangers for just 18 months before moving to Copenhagen, where he has been for less than a year.
The Danish side explained why they wanted him when they hired him last October.
“He combines strong football expertise with international experience and is used to working in clubs where winning is a must – all qualities that fit perfectly with our performance environment,” Copenhagen said.
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