Newcastle United have some key decisions to make, with the appointment of a new sporting director chiefly among them.
Paul Mitchell has now left his role at Newcastle United less than a year after arriving as Dan Ashworth’s replacement.
Indeed, the sporting director role is starting to look cursed at St James’ Park. Mitchell didn’t make a major signing at Newcastle, while Ashworth’s tenure was relatively brief too.
Hopefully, decision-makers at the club can get their act together in the transfer market soon. Head of recruitment Steve Nickson is highly rated at Newcastle, but not having a sporting director in place during a window is hardly ideal.
Now, however, The Daily Mail’s Craig Hope has provided an update.
Nottingham Forest sporting director Ross Wilson at a Premier League game against Bournemouth.
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Jason Ayto and Ross Wilson in contention for Newcastle United sporting director role
Hope took to social media platform X on Tuesday to share the latest on Newcastle’s search for an appointment.
He revealed that former Arsenal assistant sporting director Jason Ayto and Nottingham Forest’s Chief Football Officer Ross Wilson are the leading contenders.
Ayto left Arsenal earlier this summer, while Wilson has been in place at the City Ground since leaving Glasgow giants Rangers in 2023.
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— Craig Hope (@CraigHope_DM) July 1, 2025
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Why Yasir Al-Rumayyan wants a sporting director at Newcastle United
The sporting director role is an important one. Indeed, Jurgen Klopp said every top club needed a sporting director, yet Newcastle do not have one.
Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and the rest of the PIF ownership are hugely ambitious.
In fact, Mitchell revealed exactly why the Newcastle United owners wanted a sporting director so badly when speaking shortly after his appointment in 2024.
He said that the Newcastle chairman wanted the club to have “best in class” throughout their management structure and not just because of the amount of money they can spend.
“I can only speak from my interaction, but he is super-ambitious,” Mitchell told The Northern Echo in September 2024.
“He wants us to perform at number one level, and I don’t just think he wants us to perform at that level because of the money we spend, I also think he wants us to be best in class across absolutely everything we do.
“That might be youth development, the women’s team, scouting and recruitment, data and insight, coaching, innovation – he wants our position to be at the top, but he wants us to be there for the reasons that people admire. And that means being a really well-oiled, well-executed footballing operation. That was the main thing that came across for me in our meeting.”
A sporting director can be key to achieving that.