Allen appointment 'feels like a positive step'

Sheffield United unveiled a new recruitment team last week as part of further restructuring that will hopefully improve some recently-dreadful transfer business.

The departure of Paul Mitchell indicated the club was looking for a fresh approach, and they have brought in Jamie Hoyland - recently of Everton - as chief scout and Mike Allen as head of recruitment.

It would be easy to be cynical about the hires; Allen previously worked with manager Chris Wilder at United, Middlesbrough and Watford, while Hoyland is a former United player who certainly has an existing relationship with the current boss. The ties to Wilder seem to indicate that the manager himself will have a very strong say in recruitment, which rather undermines the intention of a "fresh approach".

However, I am encouraged by Allen - who had over a decade as an analyst with United until Wilder left in 2021 - taking on a new role, with the club making noises about taking a more data-driven approach. Allen was most recently head of analysis at previous clubs, and here he takes on the ostensibly bigger job of head of recruitment.

From the outside looking in, United have felt pretty old school in their recruitment in recent years, certainly compared to analytically-minded clubs like Brentford, Brighton and Luton. Appointing someone with a more modern skillset feels like a positive step towards moving the club forward ahead of a huge summer of transfer business.

Ben Meakin can be found at BladesPod