West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini has hailed the impact that sporting director Mario Husillos has had at the club.
The Irons have seen some exciting names come through the door at the London Stadium under the Chilean boss, with the likes of Felipe Anderson getting the fans on their feet.
Pellegrini was adamant upon taking the Hammers post that his good friend Husillos should be brought in to work alongside him, and the Chilean believes he couldn’t do the job he’s doing without him.
“That factor [Husillos] is very necessary for every club,” he told Football London. “You need a sporting director that must see, with having good scouting to bring in players available to buy for our club. In big teams you are fighting for big names but you always need good scouts to try to bring players who are just starting their development.
“I think Mario is working very well in that way. We are going to have different options ready. I think the arrival of Mario Husillos also was very important for this club because we have a sporting director who is preparing different things that we can do from the next season. In this moment we are just focusing our minds to finish this season as best as we can.”
OPINION
This is fascinating stuff from Pellegrini. Having a sporting director or a director of football is something more and more clubs are doing these days, and it’s often implemented when a foreign manager comes in. Perhaps it’s a European thing, because it seems to be all the rage on the continent with people like Monchi at Roma and even Txiki Begiristain at Manchester City these days. West Ham obviously got in on the act with Husillos in the summer and it seems like it’s worked very well. He will have been involved in the recruitment process for players like Felipe Anderson and Issa Diop, which shows he has has a good eye for talent. It’s all about synergy at this level. The decision makers at football clubs need to get on and be able to work in harmony, and that’s obviously not a problem for Pellegrini and Husillos. It feels like West Ham have taken a big step forward this season and the relationship between Pellegrini and Husillos is a big reason for that.
