Dean Smith has told UCFB TV that he expects more and more English clubs to take a data-driven approach to transfers, like Aston Villa through their Sporting Director, Johan Lange.
The Villans were among the Premier League’s top spenders this summer as they fluttered the £100m received for Jack Grealish. Per Sky Sports, only Arsenal (£157m), Manchester United (£134m), Man City (£100m) and Chelsea (£97.5m) spent more than Villa (£93m).
Leon Bailey has made a big impact in Birmingham since his arrival from Bayer Leverkusen, despite only playing 85-minutes. Injuries have kept the Jamaican on the sidelines, but still assisted against Watford and scored against Everton from the bench.
Danny Ings also enjoyed a strong start after leaving Southampton with two goals and two assists in seven appearances. Although Smith is still waiting to see the best of Emi Buendia as he finds his feet in claret-and-blue.
Smith has enjoyed learning more on a data-driven approach to transfers with Lange using those methods heavily at Aston Villa. Believing it is the way that clubs will go in the future.
“I really enjoyed being a part of that and learning something new in terms of recruitment,” Smith said. “We certainly use data here at Aston Villa, as well.
“Our Sporting Director Johan Lange, who was Sporting Director at Copenhagen as well, has been very involved in the data side of flagging players for recruitment.
“I think it’s a process a lot of clubs go through but, in America especially, data analysis is used a lot more. I think that’s now going to start to come into most clubs now within the English pyramid.”
Should Smith rely on Lange and data driving Aston Villa transfer plans?
It is too early to determine if Bailey, Ings, Buendia and those who arrived at Aston Villa this summer were successful transfers, or if Smith will need to try again in future markets. It is also too soon to say if January arrival Morgan Sanson was a success given his injury record.
Sanson missed five-months with a knee injury, and the £16m winter arrival is again absent with a hamstring issue. Lange wanted to see Aston Villa sign the Frenchman from Marseille in January, and for Smith to back him this summer than target an alternative.
That’s according to The Athletic, who reported Villa’s Sporting Director pushed the Villans to agree a transfer with Les Phoceens. While CEO Christian Purslow agreed he represented good value for money at the time.
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