Aberdeen land West Ham recruitment guru Jordan Miles to take on 'pivotal' Pittodrie role

Aberdeen have announced the appointment of West Ham’s Jordan Miles as their new head of recruitment.

Jordan Miles will head up Aberdeen's recruitment team at Pittodrie.

The Dons have been searching for a replacement for their previous signings chief Darren Mowbray, who left Pittodrie at the start of the month to take up a similar position at Southampton. Miles moves north from the Hammers following a spell as the English Premier League club’s head of recruitment analysis. The Englishman also worked at Derby County and Ipswich and Aberdeen say that Miles’ appointment, following a robust process, is “aligned with our continued overarching football strategy”.

On his move to the cinch Premiership outfit, Miles said: “I’m delighted to be joining such a historic club and I’m honoured to have been entrusted to lead the player recruitment team at Pittodrie. It was very apparent to me during our discussions that the people leading the club have a deep love and enthusiasm for Aberdeen. They’ve been clear in what they want to achieve and how they want to do it, and that only enhanced my desire to join the club at such an exciting time. There are already strong foundations in place within the recruitment department, highlighted by the impact of recent signings. I’m looking forward to building upon that and ultimately bring long term success to the football club.”

Aberdeen director of football Steven Gunn believes Miles will be “pivotal” for the club. “Having developed a robust recruitment department at Aberdeen, it was important to continue to build on the processes and relationships developed in the last few years with Jordan’s appointment,” Gunn said. “Jordan arrives with strong experience of an elite player recruitment environment with West Ham, who recently enjoyed European success having been crowned Europa Conference League champions.

“He brings with him knowledge of both the domestic and overseas market which was a vital prerequisite for us, and more importantly he has the personality and skill set to fit into the culture at Aberdeen. Jordan is hungry for the next stage of his career and I’m sure he will play a pivotal role in helping us achieve our ambitions on the pitch.”

Aberdeen are closing on a deal for Israeli defender Or Dadia, while they have already made six new additions in this window.