From N'Golo Kanté and Riyad Mahrez to Jamie Vardy and Marc Albrighton, there have been a whole host of players who went on to incredible new heights after signing for Leicester City.
The club’s low-key scouting and recruitment department became famous in their own right in the years leading up to the famous Premier League win. Steve Walsh left to become director of football at Everton, while technical scouts Rob Mackenzie and Ben Wrigglesworth moved on to Tottenham and Arsenal respectively.
That era of recruitment, spearheaded by Nigel Pearson and Walsh, has been City's most impressive. Walsh's successors Eduardo Macia and Lee Congerton have made a number of good signings, including FA Cup and Community Shield winners, but failed to hit the heights of the Steve Walsh era.
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City are on the verge of appointing a new head of recruitment following Congerton’s departure to Atalanta. According to reports, the club are close to prising Martyn Glover away from his head of scouting and recruitment role at Southampton. His arrival, whether it be before the summer or after, will represent something of a return to the great Walsh era, while also being a huge step forward.
When former recruitment chief Steve Walsh left City for Everton, Glover was his first appointment. He came in as chief scout before being promoted to Head of Recruitment. The duo have a long-standing professional relationship, having both worked with Sam Allardyce at various points in their careers.
They worked closely together at Everton and, while their time at Goodison Park is regarded by many as a failure, that may not have been the case. They recommended Andy Robertson, Harry Maguire and Erling Haaland - who were then available for a staggering £23.5m combined - but were knocked back by the club’s board.
Following Walsh's departure, Glover moved to head up the recruitment department at Southampton. He brought Walsh on board as a scouting consultant at St. Mary's. A similar agreement would be most welcome at Leicester. As well as his connection to Glover, Walsh also worked with Rodgers during the duo's time at Chelsea.
Several scouts from the Walsh era are still with the club to this day. Highly respected and trusted senior scout David Mills, a close friend of Walsh, has been a key recruitment figure for over a decade. The 70-year-old is credited as the first scout to watch and recommend both Mahrez and Kante.
Callum Smithson joined the club as a technical scout under Walsh in 2015 and now heads up his department. His attention to detail has been described by a club source as "unbelievably thorough" and "mind-blowing".
Another senior figure who could return to the club is Dave Worthington. The 77-year-old is the brother of late Leicester City hero Frank and scouted in Spain and Portugal for City before following Walsh to Everton. He also worked with both Walsh and Rodgers at Chelsea, and with Glover at Everton and Blackburn. As of February this year, he was scouting for Rochdale after a period out of the game due to the pandemic.
The Walsh-Glover network also has strong links to other clubs. With Rodgers and Worthington at Chelsea was Dave’s son Gary, who is now head of player recruitment at Manchester City. Walsh is also close to Fergal Harkin at Man City and AS Monaco's technical director, Laurence Stewart, was the first man to follow Walsh and Glover to Goodison Park.
It is clear to see, then, that the appointment of Glover could be seen as something of a return to the Steve Walsh model. Leicester used a top head-hunting firm to find Congerton's replacement and the fact they settled on Glover following a thorough process speaks volumes. This is far from City recruiting a friend of a friend to head up their recruitment. Glover is an experienced and respected operator who will be invaluable to Leicester over the coming years.