Jones was announced as Southampton manager on Thursday morning and has described managing in the Premier League as a dream
Southampton will pay Luton Town in excess of £4 million in compensation for Nathan Jones, who was named manager on Thursday morning after several years of closely monitoring his rise.
That scouting process has intensified over recent weeks but, even during four years with Ralph Hasenhuttl, there was always openness about the need to forward-plan to the extent of previously including the Austrian in discussions about who should succeed him.
Jones’s appointment has been led by Rasmus Ankersen, Southampton’s director of football and the co-founder of ownership group Sport Republic, who came to prominence in football with his work alongside Brentford owner Matthew Benham in both West London and also FC Midtjylland in Denmark.
The use of ‘big data to drive decision-making’ has long been Ankersen’s mantra but it is allied to a belief, detailed in his 2015 book The Gold Mine Effect, that hard work, perseverance and self-belief are ultimately the foundation to sporting success.