'Invaluable': Rich Hughes hails Portsmouth transfer work of ex-Manchester City and Liverpool talent spotter
The former Manchester City man has been Pompey’s head of recruitment since May 2024
Rich Hughes has lauded the impressive work of recruitment guru Brad Wall and his ‘unsung heroes’.
And he insists the former Manchester City, Glasgow Rangers and Liverpool man has proven to be an outstanding replacement for the highly-regarded Phil Boardman.
He had previously spent 12 months as City’s Premier League champions’ Northern UK scouting manager and boasted an impressive pedigree which also included England under-19s.
Wall subsequently spearheaded the Blues’ player hunt ahead of their Championship return following a 12-year absence - and to date has overseen 35 signings.
And with Pompey currently ninth in the table after a bright start to the 2025-26 campaign, sporting director Hughes has praised the ongoing contributions of Wall and his staff.
He told The News: ‘Brad has been huge and invaluable to me and John.
‘He’s a walking encyclopedia of football. I sat next to him at a Brighton Under-21s game during pre-season and he knew the backgrounds of their 16-17 year olds, having tracked them through.
‘Dan Ashby, who is one of our analysts, works really closely with Brad and their best skill is getting the players in front of me which we need to know - and we have a lot of faith for them to direct us to the right places.
‘John and myself have a lot of other roles as well as recruitment, but we have full trust in the (recruitment) team that when they say this is worth following up, we will get in a car and watch them at the nearest opportunity.
‘Brad has been heavily involved in watching players like Luke Le Roux and Mark Kosznovszky because the travel falls until his time, but he is heavily involved in everything.
‘We have some really fiery - but healthy - conversations and debates around players when we have them up on the screen, pulling it all apart and then putting it together. So his fingerprints are on everything which is good and the bad. It’s very much a team effort.
‘Without the work of the unsung heroes of the recruitment operation, John and myself wouldn’t be able to do what we can do. Andy Cullen and Tony Brown wouldn’t be able to help with the negotiations without all the intel created which has landed across our desks.
‘I hope that gives the accurate impression that Brad and Dan are absolutely huge in what we are doing and a big part of every success and every learning we have as a football club.’
Boardman left the Blues in February 2024, having overseen a January transfer window which included the arrivals of Callum Lang and Owen Moxon to bolster the League One leaders’ promotion bid.
Having spent six-and-a-half years at Fratton Park following his appointment by Kenny Jackett, Hughes believed they were big shoes to fill.
He identified Wall, a highly-regarded talent spotter who had also served as Glasgow Rangers’ head first-team analyst and Liverpool as a performance analyst.
In addition, Wall spent 18 months as men’s performance analyst at the Football Association, working for England under-19s when they clinched the 2017 Uefa European Under-19 Championships in Portugal.
And Hughes believes the former Manchester City man’s impact highlights the strength of staff at Fratton Park these days.
‘Huge for every environment’
He added: ‘We have so many good people with us, which is huge for every environment.
‘There is so much cynicism around football where people are leaving for the wrong reasons. But the last couple of people who have popped out of our group would be Phil to go to Everton and Matt Best, one of our physios who has left to pursue some academic opportunities.
‘It’s really nice when people leave on the best terms and remain friends.’