Newcastle and Roma set to fight for Bournemouth sporting director

AFC Bournemouth technical director Richard Hughes, 44 years old, has reportedly garnered attention from both Newcastle and AS Roma in the past few days and weeks with a potential move happening in a matter of weeks.

Hughes is recognized for his contributions to the club's recruitment strategy over nearly a decade, following the end of his playing career at the club in 2014 when he moved to a front-office/staff position within AFC Bournemouth.

A former Scotland international, Hughes began his career in Italy at Atalanta’s academy before moving to Arsenal and ultimately Bournemouth. The club trusted him once his playing career was over, offering him to stay in the organization in a director role in which he’s excelled and helped assemble competitive teams for the Cherries for nearly 10 years now.

Among some of Hughes’ spotted talents are the likes of Dominic Solanke, Aaron Ramsdale, and Callum Wilson, all of whom were scouted and recommended as transfer signings to the Cherries board by the technical director in the past few years.

Despite being linked with a potential move to Newcastle United—where he would join forces with former pal Eddie Howe assuming the manager retains his position this summer—Hughes’s future at Bournemouth is still in the air and there is no true clarity regarding what he’d prefer to do next whether that’s moving to another club or staying with the Cherries.

Newcastle are reportedly planning to proceed through the summer transfer window without altering their current structure, led by Steve Nickson’s key role in the recruitment process following Dan Ashworth’s placement on gardening leave while awaiting a resolution regarding his move to Manchester United. That, however, could change if the perfect candidate emerges during the next few months.

For what’s worth, Newcastle United might face competition from Italy’s Serie A for the acquisition of Hughes as AS Roma is reportedly interested in signing him to man their sporting director role following the departure of manager Jose Mourinho and ahead of the naming of the Portuguese’s successor at the position, something that will be presumedly done by a new sporting director considering former-man Tiago Pinto has also left the club.

Liverpool has also been in search of a new sporting director, though Hughes has not been strongly associated with this role. Roma, having previously employed world-renowned Monchi as their sporting director, is seeking to strengthen their management team after a series of significant changes, including Mourinho’s exit and Pinto’s departure. The same can be said about the Magpies, who had one of the best talent-spotters at the role in Ashworth since his move from Brighton in 2022.

Hughes’s potential move to Roma would mark a significant step in his career, and so would do one to Newcastle in the new PIF-led era, so nothing is set in stone for what might come next for the current technical director of the Cherries.