Ryan Lowe makes transfer and recruitment view clear amid Sporting Director debate

Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe believes the manager should have the final say on any new signings at a football club.

The role of a Director of Football, or equivalent, is one of rising prominence within the sport. In the Championship, North End are one of six clubs operating without one. Director, Peter Ridsdale, oversees all finances at Deepdale and works closely with Lowe. In the recruitment department, James Wallace is the club's chief scout while analytics company, MRKT Insights, are on board.

The role of a Sporting Director is a hot topic of debate at present, with Manchester United reportedly needing to pay £20million to prise Dan Ashworth away from Newcastle. The, relatively modern, role is a strategic one - overseeing all aspects of a club from recruitment to contracts, scouting, academy, sports science, infrastructure and more. As for new signings though, Lowe would always expect to have the final say as a manager.

"The manager," said Lowe, when asked. "It depends where you go and what you do - different people have different philosophies. I have to... as a manager, I pick the players. The recruitment team bring them to me - the type of style and identity we have in a player, what it looks like and how it fits my philosophy and what I'm about, as well as the coaching staff. The recruitment team go and find those players and I say 'Yeah, I want him' and Peter says 'We can afford him, but we can't afford him' and that's how it'll work.

"But ultimately, the decision on who we sign is the manager's - because if it's not, then someone else needs to be accountable for it. So, if it was a Director of Football signing players, they'd need to be accountable for the recruitment. I think, if it's a collective thing, then that's fine. We are all collective in terms of recruitment but ultimately, as the manager I either have to pick them or not pick them. I need to know if they are going to be good enough. So, here, it is on me. Every player we sign is on the manager."