Data data everywhere

[Jammy89]

Newcastle United are officially taking things into the future by recruiting a rising Silicon Valley star as they accelerate plans to build a data department they hope can rival the Premier League?s best. 🚀
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The i Paper has revealed that Kaustubh Deshpande, a 26-year-old AI specialist who has joined from top US tech firm Scale AI, began work at the club?s Benton training base last week 🏢 This is far from your traditional footballing route, as he graduated from UCLA with a masters in applied statistics before going to work in Silicon Valley. There is immense satisfaction at the club that they have been able to attract a rising tech star to the North East, especially after Newcastle fought hard to get a work visa for Deshpande. 📑✈️

​This isn't a one-off appointment either; it is part of a massive new vision for the club. Deshpande is set to be joined by a second data specialist early in the summer. 🤝 Ross Wilson and technical director Sudarshan Gopaladesikan are driving this strategy with the enthusiastic support of majority owners PIF. Club sources have stressed that the appointments should be viewed as part of a plan to 'build foundations' around the use of data at Newcastle rather than a short-term fix ahead of the next summer transfer window. 🧱📈

​📊 ​Deshpande?s job will focus on recruitment but he is not a scout. He will not be finding the next Malick Thiaw or Sandro Tonali for Eddie Howe, but he will help build systems and software that could give Newcastle a cutting edge when it comes to evaluating potential targets 🛠️

​The club are looking to get a deeper knowledge of the transfer market and crunch the numbers in a way that makes the almost endless amount of data out there more accessible. AI can be harnessed to accurately predict performance, injury risk or tactical fit. The club have already developed complex algorithms that quickly match players from around the world with their unique style of play but are keen to go much further. 🧠🧬

​Imagine a tool where the scouting department can ask quick questions of complex data. Want a Bundesliga left-back under 24 who averages four progressive carries per game? Deshpande could help Newcastle develop their own ChatGPT-style chatbot to create that shortlist in seconds, and the report insists that it is just the tip of a very deep iceberg! 🧊🔥

The future is data-driven! 👀
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Interesting to see but shows how far behind we still are comparatively.

Can only bode well for future though.

[Zippity]

It's great but, nevertheless, shameful that we're years behind the likes of Bournemouth and Brighton in recruitment.

Even the mackems taught us a lesson last Summer.