When Huddersfield Town announced that Head of Football David Moss was leaving his post at the John Smith Stadium back in October, he had been in the job for only five months.
Since then the Terriers have been without a sporting director of any description. The role Director of Football is a senior position within the club, although the exact nature of the role is often debated.
The presence of a Director of Football acts as an intermediary between the manager and the board and may relieve pressure on a manager by handling aspects away from day-to-day coaching, allowing a manager to focus on on-pitch performance.
The role can also be used as a Technical Director, which generally means that they are appointed in order to provide advice or technical assistance on footballing or other aspects that are perceived as lacking or desired by the club.
Limited Budget
Reported by The Sun, both West Ham and Huddersfield are eyeing up Erik Stoffelhaus, who joined Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow in January. The German has an excellent reputation for sourcing and developing young talent. Stoffelhaus has also reportedly improved scouting and recruitment strategies on a very low budget. After spending most of his career at Schalke the German spent three years in Canada before the move to Moscow.
Stoffelhaus has already proved impressive as the 46 year old has helped to see Lokomotiv eight points clear at the top of the Russian top flight with only 10 games left. In addition the Russian club also qualified for the last 32 of the Europa League.
All of this has been achieved on a budget much less than their rivals - which is a very familiar story for Huddersfield, as they gained promotion with a squad that cost the least of the three clubs promoted to the top flight last May.
London or Yorkshire?
With London and Yorkshire both in contention for the German, it could go either way if Stoffelhaus was to want a move to the Premier League come January.
West Ham are an established Premier League team, so could attract the 46-year-old on that basis, plus the club would be in the capital.
However, it could be a draw to come to Huddersfield and link up with a fellow countryman. The Hammers and the Terriers are both in the bottom half of the Premier League table currently, and will want to engage a Sporting Director/Director of Football to bring them up the table if possible.