Sheffield United following Liverpool, Barcelona with transfer strategy as Chris Wilder leans on trusted aspect

Sheffield United determined not to be left behind in transfer market as Chris Wilder discusses latest advancements at Bramall Lane

Scientists, experts and politicians can’t seem to reach a consensus on whether it is a good or a bad thing but most people agree on one crucial viewpoint about artificial intelligence - that it will change the world we live in. In many ways it already has; driverless cars, facial recognition in phones and your smart home assistant that you have to shout at three or four times before it eventually turns off the lights.

So it was somewhat inevitable that its reach would eventually expand into football. Liverpool use a variation of AI to help with their set-piece preparation. Barcelona are investing in a science company aiming to prevent injuries through AI. A recent survey by The Athletic saw almost two-thirds of scouts in the Premier and Football League admit that AI will affect their role in the next five years.

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The world is changing and in one small corner of it in South Yorkshire, Sheffield United are keen to not be left behind. Manager Chris Wilder was recently involved in a meeting with a data company suggested by the club’s new owners Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy, which could see the Blades’ recruitment in the future aided by computer models.

"Recruitment is huge,” Wilder admitted. “We've worked off a small group for a long time, so to open that up through other avenues is really important. Of course, you don't always get it right. I don't think anybody gets every signing they make absolutely spot on. But especially this season, we're delighted with what we've done and going back, I think we've got a very good record.

“Everyone will always point out the ones who don't do as well as you'd like but it's always a collaboration of opinions and thoughts. It's about what this club's all about in terms of characteristics of players who I believe represent us in the right way. We all sign players at the start with all good intentions and it goes through the process of everybody agreeing. Nobody puts a gun to anybody's head, saying: ‘I'm leaving if you don't sign this player,’ or I'm doing this or doing that.

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"It goes through the process at different levels, I think that's the right way to go about it. But the more information we can get on players, the better. Positons; from a physical point of view, where they are; the intensity of the leagues they're playing in. Can they do well in this division, have they got the potential to step up as well? Then you chuck in the balance of it all through experience.

“You look at saleable assets and non-saleable assets, if they give you appearances keep you in the division or get you promoted. There are loads of things to chuck in the pot but we're always open to new ideas and new experiences to make our club the best it can be.”

Technology has already helped clubs like United, who can’t place scouts in every corner of the globe as some top-flight outfits do, improve their recruitment through the use of data and video clips and their relatively small team, headed up by head of recruitment Mikey Allen and chief scout Jamie Hoyland, are all as well versed as Wilder in terms of the characteristics a player needs to succeed at this football club.

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We’ve always used data. But you can't just go and sign an 18-year-old kid from South America because he's absolutely ripping it up, and thinking: ‘How's he going to get home today in the snow?’

Chris Wilder on Sheffield United's recruitment

"Every club is different,” Wilder added. “Some might want their centre-backs to play 1,000 passes in between each other, which is okay. Some teams want to go with 10 six-foot players and go back to front incredibly quickly, so they'll set their values in a different way to ours. We’ve always used data.

“But you can't just go and sign an 18-year-old kid from South America because he's absolutely ripping it up, and thinking: ‘How's he going to get home today in the snow?’ You have to feel it. That’s absolutely massive; it's key. I think that's where our networking and our experience go hand in hand in terms of getting these players in.”

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