Phil Hodgkinson pleased as Huddersfield Town land new head of football operations

The Terriers have turned to the highly-respected former Academy coach, currently sporting director at Swedish club Östersunds, following an exhaustive search.

Webb, credited with spotting the potential of Wilfried Zaha at the age of just 13, is due to start on August 19. His arrival will fill a vacancy created when Olaf Rebbe stepped down in January after just seven months as sporting director.

The new man will work closely with head coach Jan Siewert and Josh Marsh, the club’s head of recruitment.

“I am very happy that we can welcome David to Huddersfield Town,” said Hodgkinson, whose takeover of the club was approved earlier in the summer. “I felt it was important that we took our time to get this appointment right and I am confident that we have.

“As head of football operations, David will take the strain off our head coach, Jan Siewert, by ensuring that all supporting football departments, including our recruitment operation, run as effectively as they can.

“This will allow Jan to concentrate on his core duty – ensuring the players are as prepared as possible to go out and win.

“David’s track record speaks for itself. He has held key roles across the top divisions in England, Germany and Spain, and will add real experience, skills and hunger to the club.

“It is important to stress that our head of football operations works alongside the head coach here. It is a partnership, not a case of the coach reporting into a sporting director. Equally, our excellent head of recruitment, Josh Marsh, will continue to be a key member of the behind-the-scenes team at the club, as he has been all summer.”

Webb started his career in Palace’s Academy before moving to a similar role in the Tottenham Hotspur youth set-up. He also had two years as head of player recruitment at Bournemouth, during which time he played a role in Callum Wilson heading to Dean Court just a few weeks after the club had been promoted to the Championship in 2014. Wilson has since become a full England international.