After standing firm to get the deal they wanted regarding Dan Ashworth’s departure to Manchester United, Newcastle United moved swiftly to confirm the appointment of Paul Mitchell as the club’s new sporting director. Mitchell arrives with a strong reputation across the game, and was even a target for Man Utd at one stage having most recently worked as a sporting director at AS Monaco following a spell as technical director at Red Bull’s global football division.
For football fans in this country, Mitchell will be best known for his time spent at Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur. The 42-year-old was involved in Tottenham’s transfer strategy when Kieran Trippier, Dele Alli, Son Heung-min and Toby Alderweireld were brought to north London, but clashed with chairman Daniel Levy and like Ashworth, found himself on gardening leave before eventually leaving the club.
So, what can we learn from his time at Spurs and how was Mitchell viewed by the fans in North London? We spoke to Alasdair Gould from our sister title football.london, to get the lowdown on Newcastle’s new man.
Ali Gould verdict on Mitchell
“Paul Mitchell’s stay at Tottenham was a short and initially sweet one before it all went rather sour. Mauricio Pochettino had a close relationship with the head of recruitment at Southampton, which is why he was poached as a 33-year-old a couple of months after the Argentine’s arrival in 2014.
