Newcastle United’s new sporting director is expected to be appointed from Nottingham Forest.
Newcastle United are closing in on a second major appointment behind the scenes following the arrival of David Hopkinson as chief executive officer.
Hopkinson arrived as Darren Eales’ successor as Newcastle CEO last week, filling an important gap behind the scenes at the club.
Eales leaves Newcastle due to health reasons after overseeing the most successful period in the club’s recent history, with two Champions League qualifications and a Carabao Cup win in three years.
Hopkinson’s appointment brings some stability at Newcastle after a largely uncertain and tumultuous summer that started with the abrupt exit of Paul Mitchell as sporting director after less than a year in the role.
Head coach Eddie Howe described Mitchell’s exit, which was officially by mutual consent, as a surprise to him. Newcastle’s early transfer window business suffered on the back of it as the club failed to land top targets such as Joao Pedro, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and James Trafford.
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Moves where then made to sign Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko, which ultimately proved unsuccessful. Newcastle were eventually able to find some success in the transfer market late into the window, with Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa joining for a combined fee of £120million, though it came at the expense of Alexander Isak joining Liverpool for a Premier League record £130million fee.
While only time will tell if Newcastle’s summer transfer business has been a success or not, the club was able to navigate its biggest turnover of players since being promoted back to the Premier League in 2017 without a sporting director in place.
But now the dust has settled on the summer transfer window, The Magpies are ready to finally make an appointment. Newcastle’s previous sporting director appointment of Paul Mitchell came midway through the 2024 summer window and was far from ideal for all involved.
Newcastle United line-up sporting director appointment
Newcastle have identified Nottingham Forest’s chief football officer Ross Wilson as the club’s new sporting director. He will be the club’s third sporting director in three years following Mitchell and Dan Ashworth previously.
Wilson was identified prior to David Hopkinson’s arrival as CEO but will be the first major appointment made under his tenure.
Wilson’s expected departure from Forest comes during a transitional time for the club following the departure of Nuno Espirito Santo and the appointment of Ange Postecoglou as head coach.
Wilson has been Forest’s sporting director since 2023 and has overseen the club’s rise from a relegation battle to European qualification over the past season. He has previous experience in similar roles at Rangers, Southampton and Huddersfield Town.
The 41-year-old previously worked in academy football at Watford and at his hometown club, Falkirk, before moving into senior recruitment roles.
Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe is set to work with his third sporting director of his tenure at the club. Despite Newcastle functioning without a sporting director during the 2025 summer transfer window and 2022 January transfer window, Howe has described the role as ‘pivotal’ for the club.
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