‘After the wait’: Portsmouth finally welcome ex-Manchester City, Liverpool and Wolves man to bolster transfer power

The former England analyst replaces Phil Board after his Everton move.
Rich Hughes praised ‘innovative’ Brad Wall after Pompey finally got their man.
Manchester City placed the highly regarded talent spotter on garden leave earlier this year after informing them of his desire to move to Fratton Park.

Nonetheless, today marks his first day as the Blues’ new head of recruitment, a position previously held by Phil Boardman.

Wall previously worked at Wolves, Glasgow Rangers, and Liverpool before becoming the Northern UK scouting manager for the Premier League champions, as reported by The News.

Brad Wall today starts work as Pompey's new head of recruitment. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages

In addition, as the FA’s men’s performance analyst, he assisted England’s under-19 team in winning the 2017 Uefa European Under-19 Championships in Portugal.

Now he has arrived at Pompey to help with recruitment ahead of the club’s long-awaited Championship return.

Hughes told The News: ‘Brad has served his notice period, and I’m delighted to welcome him. He’s smart, diligent, good at his job, well-connected, and has an excellent eye for a player.

‘We felt it would be worth the wait to ensure we got the right person rather than the quickest. He was an excellent choice to lead the department and help us continue to improve.

‘Brad is a person and practitioner who is compatible with what we are trying to accomplish. His keen eye for detail stems from his background in analysis, and he also has a solid understanding of the game.

‘He talks authenticity; he’s pleasant, polite, humble, and respectful, and he has a thorough understanding and knowledge of football.

‘His responsibilities will be very similar to Phil’s (Boardman). Brad will lead and assist all part-time scouts, be the trusted senior eyes to watch players, oversee a lot of the video and data work, and have many preliminary conversations with agents.

‘I’ve done the role before; it’s broad and encompassing, so you need people who are highly self-motivated because they work alone for long periods of time.

“You also need an innovative approach, trying different things, working out different markets, and incorporating different ideas into the equation.”

Boardman left for Everton in February after the January transfer window, during which Pompey signed five new players to bolster their Championship push.

He is now the Toffees’ senior European scout after six and a half years at Fratton Park, and Hughes praised his former colleague’s work.

The Blues’ sporting director added: ‘Brad will continue the excellent work done by Phil Boardman and the staff before Phil left for Everton.

‘Phil is also a very good friend of mine from our time working together, and he has contributed as much to our success as anyone else.

‘He has a lot to say about the groundwork that was done during the recruitment process. He’s been a huge part of it.

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