Johan Lange: Aston Villa appoint new sporting director to replace outgoing Suso

Lange arrives after six years working as technical director for FC Copenhagen

Aston Villa have appointed Johan Lange as the club’s new sporting director to replace the outgoing Jesus Garcia Pitarch, known as Suso.

Lange arrives after six years working as technical director for FC Copenhagen, who won three Danish titles during his time in the role. Reporting directly to Villa’s board, he will have responsibility for overseeing the football aspects of the club including analytics, sports science, player recruitment and youth development.

Lange said: “Aston Villa is one of the most famous clubs in European football with a rich history, but it is also a progressive club looking to the future. I am excited and honoured to be given this opportunity to contribute to the club’s ambitious strategy to become a force in Premier League football again.”

Suso departed this week after only one year at Villa Park. He presided over last summer’s spending spree, which saw around £140m spent on a dozen new players to bolster the squad after promotion from the Championship. While there were some successes, including Tyrone Mings who became an England international in the early part of the season, several players underperformed, like £22.5m striker Wesley who returned only five goals in his debut Premier League campaign.

The manager Dean Smith stressed after Villa’s final-day survival that the club need to reinvest in the playing squad in order to take a step forwards next season.

Doubt remains over the future of the captain Jack Grealish, who is subject to interest from Manchester United among other big clubs. Villa are holding out for as much as £80m for the midfielder, but United are reluctant to pay much more than £50m and the standoff is likely to mean Grealish remains at Villa Park unless he tries to force a move away.

Co-owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens said: “We’re pleased to welcome Johan to Aston Villa as we continue building a world-class organisation. This past season we were able to navigate a very difficult transition into the Premier League and are happy with the effort to stay up. But we will not be satisfied until we achieve our goal of bringing sustainable success to Aston Villa at the top tier of European football.

“We’ve made some significant strides in building an organisation and culture that will sustain success. We made significant investments into our academy programme by upgrading our facilities and bringing in a talented leadership team. We have also significantly invested in our women’s team who achieved promotion to the top tier of women’s football. This is a great opportunity to improve our football operations.

“We are incredibly optimistic about the future of Aston Villa and remain committed to further invest in the Club’s success.”