While it’s not common knowledge, every club approaches scouting differently, and Alessandro Pizzoli, once a scout at Chelsea, reveals that he didn’t get on with the way Newcastle United go about it.
The scout was speaking at the Palermo Football Conference, which TuttoMercatoWeb attended, and he revealed that he came close to working for the Magpies.
He was asked whether he had been approached by Newcastle, who have been scouring the Italian transfer market a bit more of late, as shown by their purchase of Sandro Tonali.
Pizzoli said: “I was approached by Newcastle. I arrived at one point and was told that they would look at the data and tell me which players to go and see. I have been doing this job for 30 years, I choose the players to watch. Players then have to be contextualised, there are athletic, technical and tactical parameters to consider.
“It’s not certain that a player who plays well in Italy can be considered a top player in England. I offered Casadei when I arrived at Chelsea. He was playing in the U17s and would have cost €180k. He wasn’t doing well there, and then, when he cost €20m, they bought him… There is a different mentality.”
Prior to being approached by Newcastle, the 53-year-old has enjoyed a variety of roles, having been sporting director at Bogliasco, head of scouting at Palermo and Pro Piacenza before trying his hand in the Premier League for three years with the Blues.
He then left that role in 2022 and took over as the Chief Scout at SPAL, where he remains to this day.
One thing is certain, however, and that’s the fact he doesn’t like how Newcastle operate on the scouting market.
