Rob Newman has a surprisingly important role in the January transfer window, according to reports.

At one point, it seemed almost certain that Rob Newman would be on his way out of West Ham following the appointment of Tim Steidten. His time as head of recruitment has been lacklustre to say the least. A large number of his signings have not been all that successful in claret and blue, hence why the club appointed Steidten.

While it was once expected that his days were numbered in East London, it is now reported that he has one of the most important jobs this month. The former Manchester City employee certainly is not in charge of transfers anymore, so what is his role?

Well, considering that so many of the Hammers’ targets are African, it only makes sense to have someone go scout the African Cup of Nations and, according to The Mail, Newman is the one who has been selected to go monitor their targets. The most prominent one will undoubtedly be Serhou Guirassy, who David Moyes will be hoping to sign despite interest from the likes of Manchester United and AC Milan.

As well as previous targets, it would not be surprising of Newman recommends some new players based off their perfomance at the competition. AFCON could represent the perfect opportunity to find the cheap, hidden gem that the Hammers need.

For whatever reason, it seems like the club have done a complete 180 on the recruiter. It will be intriguing to see if, going forward, Newman continues to play a crucial role at West Ham.