Jim Goodwin is determined to see Dundee United’s recruitment department develop so the Tangerines can unearth far-flung bargains — just like Aberdeen did during his tenure at Pittodrie.
Following a thorough analysis of what went wrong during their dismal descent to relegation last season, United are in the process of revamping how they identify talent.
Prior head of recruitment Sean McGee has departed the club, just months after the exit of former sporting director Tony Asghar.
Goodwin and chief executive Luigi Capuano are currently spearheading signings and have overseen a sensible transfer window, largely snapping up known quantities — with a couple of exceptions like Jack Walton and Ollie Denham.
But work is ongoing behind the scenes to strengthen that aspect of the club.
“That (improving recruitment) is something we are continuously working on,” said Goodwin. “We have just brought in a scout to do opposition analysis and now we need to recruit a head scout; that is the next step.
“We’ll look to have a head of recruitment and build a team under him to make sure we are scouring all possible markets; getting down to England or asking, “can we put a guy on a plane to Eastern Europe every so often to find that next one (bargain)?”
“They are the type of markets where we can compete.
“(Ylber) Ramadani and (Bojan) Miovski came from a team towards the bottom of the Hungarian league. Nobody knew the two boys from Adam, but they went on to have huge success in the Premiership.
“It is something we are trying to implement here at Dundee United with Luigi (Capuano), the chief executive.”
He added: “The recruitment side of the game is something I have always enjoyed and I think our signings have been good so far.
“And if we can get into the Premiership then it opens up some different markets, and we need to be prepared for that.”
Hit or miss
Goodwin worked closely with ex-Dons recruitment chief Darren Mowbray last summer to snap up the likes of Duk, Bojan Miovski, Leighton Clarkson and Kelle Roos.
Aberdeen recouped more than ten times their outlay on Ramadani following his recent move to Serie A side Lecce, having paid a fee in the region of £100,000 just a year ago.
“It is hard work and you need to put in the time and effort because it is worth it in the end when you get it right,” added Goodwin.
“You can’t get everything right. Statistically, people say if you get 50% right, then you have done well. Our target at Aberdeen was to try to get 65 to 70%.
“One or two didn’t work out as we would have hoped — for a number of different reasons — but the homework and research that was done was the reason why there weren’t many mistakes.”
Miller on the move
Meanwhile, promising forward Miller Thomson has joined Montrose on loan until January.
Thomson, 19, has been a part of the United first-team squad during the early part of this season, including substitute appearances against Spartans and Arbroath.
But Goodwin believes his development will be better served by a stint with the League One outfit.
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