Sheffield United embracing AI in the global search for footballing talent

Sheffield United are turning to artificial intelligence to widen their scouting net.

The club's new American owners, COH Sports, have introduced an AI company who will help with various aspects, including the scouting and medical teams.

Chris Wilder is sometimes wrongly portrayed as a bit of a footballing dinosaur despite the innovative tactics which made his name as a Premier League manager, but he is looking forward to using the technology to extend the Blades' reach in the transfer market.

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"We've worked off a small (recruitment) group for a long time so to open that up through other avenues is really important,” he says.

AI ADVOCATES: Sheffield United co owner’s Steven Rosen (left) and Helmy EltoukhyAI ADVOCATES: Sheffield United co owner’s Steven Rosen (left) and Helmy Eltoukhy
AI ADVOCATES: Sheffield United co owner’s Steven Rosen (left) and Helmy Eltoukhy

"The more information we can get on players – positions, a physical point of view, where they are, the intensity of the leagues they're playing in, can they do well in this division, have they got the potential to step up as well? – the better.

"Then you chuck in the balance of it all through experience, you look at saleable assets and non-saleable assets, if they give you appearances keep you in the division or get you promoted, there's loads of things to chuck in the pot but we're always open to new ideas and new experiences to make our club the best it can be.

"We've done this for quite a long time from a data point of view with (former head of recruitment) Paul Mitchell. In 2017-18 when we got the software I always remember sitting with Mitch on a Monday morning looking at where do our players rank in terms of the top players and what they're doing and our specific areas that we want to see and what our players need to be good at.

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"Every club's different, some might want their centre-backs to play 1,000 passes in between each other, which is okay. Some teams want to go with 10 6ft players and go back to front incredibly quickly so they'll set their values in a different way to ours.

APPLIANCE OF SCIENCE: Sheffield United manager Chris WilderAPPLIANCE OF SCIENCE: Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder
APPLIANCE OF SCIENCE: Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder

"We've always done it.

"But you can't just go and sign a young kid from South America, 18, because he's absolutely ripping it up thinking how's he going to get home (in the snow)?"

And although Wilder is a manager, rather than a coach with a director of football leading recruitment, he is at pains to stress how collaborative the process is, and how it will always be about eyes and ears too.

"I don't think anybody gets every signing they make absolutely spot on but especially this season we're delighted with what we've done," he says.

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"Going back I think we've got a very good record. Everyone will always point out the ones who don't do as well as you'd like but it's always a collaboration of opinions and thoughts.

"It's about what this club's all about in terms of characteristics of players who I believe represent us in the right way.

"We all sign players at the start with all good intentions and it goes through the process of everybody agreeing. Nobody puts a gun to anybody's head saying I'm leaving if you don't sign this player or I'm doing this or doing that.

"It goes through the process at different levels, I think that's the right way to go about it."

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The Blades signed good characters as well as good players in the last transfer window, and that is something it is much harder for AI to signpost.

"It's absolutely massive, it's key," says Wilder. "I think that's where our networking and our experience go hand in hand in terms of getting these players in.

"They don't have to come from S2 or S5 or S8 or S10, we can sign players from different areas. Vini (Souza)'s been outstanding, his attitude's been super and his play's been really good.

"We'll chuck our net far and wide.

"It's not been a Nottingham Forest scenario where we can sign 30, 40 players and some come off and some don't. We've usually had to try and get every single one right, or as close to it as possible. There's been no wriggle room. Other clubs are allowed that.

"I think that's the reason why we've had to put so much work into it, and why we talk about the work that goes on away from the lights getting these players in and making sure they are a success."

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