Watford have pulled off a transfer coup by recruiting highly rated talent-spotter Ben Manga as their new technical director.
Manga had previously been working as director of professional football at Eintracht Frankfurt, on a contract until 2026, but on Wednesday left that post ahead of starting his new role with Watford next week.
The 48-year-old is regarded as one of the best talent-spotters in football and at Watford will focus on player recruitment, working alongside current sporting director Cristiano Giaretta.
Manga joined Frankfurt in 2016 as a scout and played a pivotal role in building the squad that won the Europa League last season, boasting a strong track record for identifying talent after signing the likes of Daichi Kamada, Evan Ndicka, Luka Jovic, Randal Kolo Muani and Sebastien Haller.
Such is Manga’s ability to find players, he earned the nickname ‘Pearl Diver’ while working in Germany.
Watford are making further additions to their backroom team with Julian Dicks set to become part of Slaven Bilic’s staff. The pair have a close relationship and worked together when Bilic was in charge of West Ham and then West Brom.
Bilic made it clear when he was hired by Watford that he wanted to bring Dicks in, who had been working in the USA with Carolina Velocity.
