Aston Villa Advertise South American First-Team Talent Scout Role
Aston Villa have advertised a new role for a South American first-team talent scout on the club’s official website. The job is full-time and sits on a fixed-term contract until June 2028. It is the clearest sign yet that Unai Emery’s recruitment staff want a permanent presence in South America.
Supporters tracking the latest Aston Villa transfer news will want to take note. The advert covers a specific patch of the map, not a general scouting brief. Villa want someone who already knows the region and can build relationships there. That detail alone shows how seriously the club takes this market.
Official Job Description and Requirements Detailed on Club Website
Aston Villa set out the role in plain terms on the official job posting. The advert reads:
An exciting new opportunity has arisen for an experienced scout to join our Men’s First Team Scouting Team. This role will be based in South America, helping to identify and recommend talent capable of contributing to success at the highest level of the game.
The scope is wide. Villa explain that the scout will cover South and Central America, including MLS and Liga MX:
As a key member of our Men’s First Team Scouting Team, you will play a leading role in identifying, assessing and recommending talent across South and Central America, including key markets in South America as well as MLS and Liga MX.
Applicants need fluency in both Spanish and English. They must already live in South America, or be willing to relocate there.
Day to day work blends live matches with video analysis. The club state:
Combining live and video scouting, you will produce detailed player evaluations, maintain position-specific shortlists and contribute to evidence-based recruitment decisions for both First Team and Emerging Talent targets.
The scout will also work closely with Villa’s recruitment and data staff, presenting findings to senior figures at the club. Building a strong network matters too. The posting notes:
You will also leverage your professional network to gather market intelligence, conduct character checks and build relationships with player representatives, while setting high standards through the quality of your analysis and scouting output.
Alysson Deal Highlights Growing South American Recruitment Focus
This vacancy has not come out of nowhere. Villa signed defender Alysson from Grêmio in January. He has already scored for the club this season, in a 2-1 home defeat to Nottingham Forest. That deal shows the calibre of player already arriving through South American channels, even before a dedicated scout is in place.
It fits a wider pattern that regular readers will recognise from our midseason recruitment activity coverage. Villa’s scouting network has been busy well beyond the Premier League. A specialist South American scout would give that work far more structure, rather than relying on occasional trips and third-party reports.
Fixed-Term Contract Timeline and Department Meetings Schedule
The contract runs until June 2028, giving the successful applicant close to three seasons to build a network across the continent. That is a serious commitment from Villa, not a short-term experiment.
The advert is clear about the travel involved:
You will be available to travel to live games across South America as well as be available to travel to Birmingham on a regular basis (approximately three times a year) in order to participate in department meetings.
The scout will spend most of the year working across South America, MLS and Liga MX. They will return to Birmingham roughly three times a year to brief Villa’s staff in person. It is a hybrid role built for one market. It sits alongside the club’s wider rebuild under Emery, detailed in our assessment of the squad rebuild.
No candidate has been named. Villa have not confirmed a timeline for filling the post. The advert, confirmed in the Birmingham Mail report on the job vacancy, adds to this week’s Aston Villa transfer news. It shows where the club’s recruitment focus is heading next.
