Former Cardiff City, Manchester United and Arsenal scout Kevin Beadell has been named as Sheffield Wednesday‘s new Head of Recruitment ahead of the January transfer window, the club have officially announced.
There have been quite a lot of changes at Hillsborough since the club were promoted via the League One playoffs last term, with the departure of head coach Darren Moore kickstarting a series of exits.
By the beginning of October, with the Owls sitting rock bottom and winless in the Championship, Moore’s successor Xisco Munoz was dismissed, with former Bayern Munich assistant coach Danny Rohl taking the reins.
Rohl had never managed before so it was a big risk to take by Wednesday chairman Dejphon Chansiri but the team have picked up some massive points in recent weeks, including a 1-1 draw at home to Leicester City last week and an emphatic 3-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers in the team’s most recent outing.
The German coach brought in his own coaching staff upon taking over the Owls, bringing the likes of former Charlton Athletic boss Chris Powell onto his backroom team as an assistant as well as the ex-Arsenal goalkeeping coach Salvatore Bibbo.
However, Sheffield Wednesday have made yet another massive appointment this past week, confirming that Kevin Beadell has been named as the club’s Head of Recruitment.
Beadell spent nine years at Old Trafford as a scout and an opposition analyst as the Red Devils picked up four Premier League titles and a Champions League for their troubles but was most recently the youth chief scout at Cardiff City.
Speaking to club media upon the announcement of his arrival, Beadell admitted that he was convinced to join after holding talks with Chansiri and Rohl:
“After leaving Cardiff, I had a chat with the chairman and we spoke about the club, the vision and how it’s quite exciting the way things are moving forward.
“I watched the Leicester game live and I was really enthused with the crowd and the environment that was there, a great stadium and the team performances are really improving.
“After talking to the manager, it was really encouraging to hear and understand his vision and I’ve got a great feeling around him and the coaching staff he’s brought in.
“I think the way he’s trying to play is clear and exciting for people to watch.”
Writer’s View
This is a really big appointment by Sheffield Wednesday, going out and getting someone with the calibre and experience of Beadell to hopefully improve the club’s recruitment policy, which has been questionable in recent seasons, to say the least.
However, given Chansiri’s hands-on approach when it comes to making decisions at the club, it will be interesting to see whether Beadell is given free rein to complete the job to the best of his ability or not.
Deputy Head of Writing
