Southampton’s head of national recruitment set to join Tottenham

Southampton's top national recruitment leader, Simon Jones, has departed from the team and is now transitioning to Tottenham Hotspur.

Jones, who started working for Southampton in September 2021 as the main regional scout, was recently promoted to head the national recruitment department for players between the ages of 14 and 19. He is expected to work closely with Jack Chapman, who also recently moved to Tottenham as their new head of recruitment for youth players.

Both individuals were well-regarded at Southampton, with Chapman receiving recognition for his work in improving the recruitment and pre-academy programs. He only spent one season at the club after coming from Swansea City the previous year.

On the other hand, Jones has almost three decades of experience in scouting and recruitment. His career began in 1995 at Walsall and he later worked at Cheltenham Town, Birmingham, and Liverpool. In 2013, he was a scout in Liverpool's academy.

Southampton is getting ready to make their comeback to the Premier League after earning promotion through the Championship play-offs last season.

In August, they have matches against Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, and Brentford, while Spurs will be facing Leicester City and Everton.

Check out the upcoming matches for your favorite Premier League team in the 2024-25 pre-season.

Steve Bardens took this photo for The FA. It shows a scene from a recent game.

Gain full access to special stories.

Sign up for The Athletic to get detailed coverage of the athletes, teams, leagues, and clubs you love. Test it out for free for a week.

Jacob is a writer who covers Aston Villa for The Athletic. Before that, he wrote about Southampton FC for The Athletic and worked as a sports journalist for Reach PLC, focusing on football in the south coast. He was recognized as the Student Football Writer of the Year by the Football Writers' Association in 2021. Keep up with Jacob on Twitter @J_Tanswell.