Newcastle United have recruited a rising Silicon Valley star as they accelerate plans to build a data department they hope can rival the Premier League’s best.
The i Paper can reveal that Kaustubh Deshpande, a 26-year-old AI specialist who has joined from top US tech firm Scale AI, began work at the club’s Benton training base last week. Deshpande’s route into the Premier League is not the usual path travelled – he graduated from UCLA with a masters in applied statistics before going to work in Silicon Valley – but there is satisfaction at the club that they have been able to attract a rising tech star to the North East.
Newcastle fought hard to get a work visa for Deshpande. The i Paper understands he is set to be joined by a second data specialist early in the summer as part of a new “vision” for the club.
The Magpies have developed an algorithm to help pick players that match with their style of play (Photo: Getty)
Sporting director Ross Wilson, who was part of a Southampton set-up that pioneered the use of data a decade ago with their “black box” that continuously monitored potential targets, has worked with technical director Sudarshan Gopaladesikan on the strategy. It has the enthusiastic support of majority owners PIF, with data having been part of conversations at the recent Matfen Hall “off-site” summit.
