Why did Tim Steidten leave Bayern Leverkusen?

The arrival of Tim Steidten as their technical director may prove to be West Ham United’s most significant signing of the summer transfer window.

Steidten, hired after almost four years in similar roles with Bayer Leverkusen of Germany’s Bundesliga, will be responsible for West Ham’s player recruitment strategy — and there will be little time for a bedding-in period, given his first task will be to assist manager David Moyes in finding Declan Rice’s replacement with some of the £105million the club expects to bank from their captain’s move to Arsenal.

Steidten, 44, has a proven track in identifying talent, having helped sign Serge Gnabry and Kevin De Bruyne (on loan) while previously with another German side, Werder Bremen. Moussa Diaby and Jeremie Frimpong are some of the young players recruited during his time at Leverkusen, and West Ham will be expecting similar success in east London.

Their majority shareholder David Sullivan has said that Steidten’s appointment “is key to our wider plans to drive our football strategy forward”, but the question of exactly where he slots into their structure is intriguing.

Why did Tim Steidten leave Bayern Leverkusen?

Towards the end of last year, Steidten was in talks with the London club about joining their team in a similar position that he then held at Bayer. The club must now act fast to replace Steidten. B04 has little chance of securing Champions League or European football this season.