Steve Walsh (scout)

Not to be confused with Steve Walsh (footballer).

Steve Walsh is an English football scout and assistant manager of Leicester City.

Early and personal life

Walsh was born in Chorley, Lancashire to Irish parents. His brother Mickey played as a forward for the Republic of Ireland and clubs including Blackpool and Porto. Their cousin Michael played for Mayo GAA.[1]

Career

Walsh did his coaching badges in the 1970s and worked as a physical education teacher at Bishop Rawtorne High School, Croston, Lancashire, in tandem with scouting for, in order, Bury, Chester City and Chelsea.[1] While at Chelsea, he scouted Gianfranco Zola and Didier Drogba, both of whom went on to have successful careers at the club.[2] In 2006 he left for the chief scout role at Newcastle United, where he met Nigel Pearson. He followed Pearson to Leicester City in 2008 and Hull City two years later, and then accompanied him on his return to Leicester, whereby he was made assistant manager.[1] After Pearson was sacked in 2015, the club's board retained all of his staff, including Walsh.[3]

Walsh scouted obscure players such as Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy and N'Golo Kanté for Leicester, and their eventual successes led to Arsenal to want to enlist his services. He had a £1 million release clause written into his contract.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Naughton, Kyle (2 October 2014). "Leicester City’s Steve Walsh – The Irish Super Scout". Pundit Arena. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "Leicester City step up bid for new players". Leicester Mercury. 30 April 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  3. ↑ Wallace, Sam (13 February 2016). "Leicester City's linchpins: The experienced backroom staff who laid foundations for club's unlikely title push". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  4. ↑ Percy, John (17 January 2016). "Arsenal raid Leicester for highly-rated scout who helped sign Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kante". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 April 2016.

External links

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