Scouting: Dealing with agents

Dealing with agents is a necessity in the modern game but it can cause problems if a club’s recruitment department is not wise to the risks. In the next part of our Changing Face of Scouting series, with clubs lining up January transfer targets, experienced scout Rob Mackenzie explains the challenges and how some agencies are responding in the right way.

The continuous flow of footballers in and out of clubs is nothing new. Professionals are well accustomed to the sight of trialists turning up to show what they can do. Some even talk their way onto the Premier League pitch as Ali Dia did for Southampton 20 years ago last month. But that’s merely the most high-profile example of a familiar phenomenon.

Agent-led signings are common. They can be seen as a relatively straightforward alternative to the rigmarole of identifying players independently. But they can also lead to costly errors and increase the likelihood of those errors. A robust recruitment system is the best way of avoiding such embarrassments.

With statistics available for leagues all over the world, the ammunition is there to respond swiftly to those agents insistent that their client – and only their client – is the man capable of making the difference. And yet, such stats can still be overlooked. With intermediaries often associated with takeovers, the division between club and agency can be unclear.

While Rob Mackenzie, formerly of Leicester, Tottenham and Derby, has nothing but praise for his previous employers, he’s heard stories from elsewhere. “Football is a competitive market place and agents are salesmen so it is understandable that they try their luck, why wouldn’t you?” he tells Sky Sports. “But naive decision makers within clubs are the ones who bear the consequences, not the agent.

“One of the jobs of the modern scout is to filter out the names that get thrown at you on a daily basis. The key is to be able to explain quickly and succinctly why …

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