Head of recruitment Pedro Ferreira has revealed the work that goes into targeting new players for Nottingham Forest.
This is an important summer window for the Reds as they prepare to test themselves in Europe next season. Strengthening Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad with the right additions will be key.
Ferreira moved to the City Ground 12 months ago after spending 17 years in various roles at Benfica. The lure of working with fellow Portuguese Nuno Espirito Santo was a big temptation, along with the “ambitious” project overseen by owner Evangelos Marinakis.
“I reached a moment of my life professionally and personally where I was ready to move forward,” Ferreira told TransferRoom. “Both Benfica and Nottingham Forest are very ambitious organisations. It was an instant match when they approached me for the role, which made the transition very easy.
“Benfica is and always was a team that is fighting to win the league. And Nottingham Forest is a very ambitious club that is creating everything to try to achieve that. That's the ambitions that I love in the club and that they love in me as well.”
Transfers are a collective operation Trentside. In addition to Ferreira, chief football officer Ross Wilson, global technical director George Syrianos and a network of scouts all play their part.
“Nowadays, specificity is the key,” Ferreira explained. “Sports and football, by its nature, have evolved in such a way that it requires specialists in various areas.
“The role of the scout arises from this need. We have (chief football officer) Ross Wilson, and the recruitment department reports to Ross and the youth recruitment department reports to Ross as well. We are always working as a team.
“We have nine scouts. Two live in the UK, one lives in Brazil and all the others spread around Europe.
“They are responsible for their own markets, but they know they work as a group. They are always exchanging information and helping each other on assessing the player.
"We all know that every single name we are giving to the discussion is from us, not from someone from France, someone from Portugal. (We) work all together, creating a lot of meetings to discuss the players in order to have them ready for the negotiation part.
“The coach (Nuno) has so many things to worry about; the key is to trust the professionals around him. We must position ourselves as the specialists and without fear take on an essential role in the decision-making process regarding player signings.
“From Nuno, it's very easy. He knows he leads all of us and he is the face of the team in every single game. But of course he trusts every single person that works with him at Nottingham Forest. We are all there as a unit to try to achieve our goals.”
When it comes to new additions, Nuno places a lot of emphasis on recruiting the right characters. For Ferreira, meeting potential targets is crucial.
“Identifying and selecting (players) is something where you need a lot of time and you need to see a lot of football matches,” the 42-year-old explained. “We have KPIs (key performance indicators), so trust on that, focus on that and not on your personal preferences.
“(It is) identifying a lot of players and then selecting the ones that fit the criteria that we need to play for our team. And then, let's meet personally with the players and try to identify the human being. That is something that is very, very important for us in Nottingham Forest.
“From the ownership to the coach to everybody, we are always speaking and discussing first the human being. If you have a clear bond between all of the team, it's easier.
“Working as a team, you need to trust everybody that we're working with. Having someone that is an an outlier, it's very, very difficult to manage.
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“And then we have everything and we can pass this to the ownership to make the final step - the negotiations - and do the business. That is very important and the end of all this process.”
Networking is a big part of the recruitment process for Ferreira. To help with that, Forest utilise the digital platform TransferRoom.
TransferRoom provides clubs, agents and players with real-time market data and direct access to a global network of decision-makers.
More than 800 teams worldwide are said to use the platform, giving them access to up-to-date information on clubs’ needs and the availability of players across the world.
The Reds joined TransferRoom a couple of years ago, with Wilson having used the platform during his time at Rangers. Ferreira describes it as an invaluable tool, not least because he had met Tom Stockwell, Forest’s head of first team scouting operations, at a TransferRoom event prior to his appointment at the City Ground.
“Networking is part and parcel of this industry - from owners we meet during transfer negotiations to agents and sporting directors through the day to day operations for our clubs,” he said.
“But TransferRoom has brought this process into a more formal setting, which is incredible to see. The development has been fascinating to follow. For sure, TransferRoom is changing everything.
“TransferRoom is very, very important because it can connect people. You can be in every part of the world and be connected to different people from different clubs.
“With a click, you can know if a player is available or not. What every single team is looking for, this can help you on signing or even loaning some players.
“And then a lot of events are live or on video that can connect people. People can have face to face meetings to discuss what every team needs in every single window.
“This is a very, very important. It is a tool that has changed all of our job and all of our industry.”
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