West Ham United is taking a bold step into the future of football recruitment, teaming up with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and technology consultancy Crayon to build a fully club-specific, AI-powered talent identification platform. It’s the first Premier League club to go beyond third-party scouting tools and develop its own integrated solution powered by machine learning and generative AI—essentially designing the digital brain of its future recruitment strategy.

This new platform aims to support every stage of scouting, from early discovery to final decision-making. And unlike the generic tools used across the industry, West Ham’s system is being built specifically around the club’s style of play, internal workflows, and recruitment philosophy.

A System Built Around West Ham’s Identity

At the core of the project is a blend of AWS technologies—including Amazon SageMaker for machine-learning modelling and Amazon Bedrock for generative AI. Crayon, which previously helped build AI systems for major Bundesliga initiatives, is co-developing the platform through its dedicated AI Center of Excellence.

What makes this system interesting is how many different data streams it brings under one roof. Instead of analysts juggling dashboards, spreadsheets, scouting clips and siloed data sources, the platform will consolidate everything into one environment accessible only to West Ham’s recruitment team.

That includes:

• Physical metrics such as speed, acceleration, durability
• Technical performance indicators like passing profiles, ball progression, defensive actions
• Contextual match data, showing how a player performs under pressure, in different systems or game states
• Player-profile information — age, development trajectory, market valuation, contract status

Maximilian Hahn, Head of Technical Recruitment & Analysis, says the system won’t replace scouts but will give them a richer, more dynamic starting point. Instead of debating isolated stats or limited match samples, West Ham can benchmark players globally, simulate how they might fit different tactical roles, and compare them within specific scenarios—such as replacing an aging starter or building for a future formation change.

A Step Toward Football’s Data-Driven Future

For a club known as the “Academy of Football,” investing in such a platform signals a shift in how the club plans to shape its next decade. Premier League sides have already been pushing deeper into analytics, but West Ham’s decision to design its own model — rather than plug into off-the-shelf tools — is a move toward true competitive differentiation.

Executive Director Nathan Thompson called the collaboration a “major milestone” and emphasized one key advantage: ownership. By building its own platform, West Ham controls the data inputs, the modelling logic, and ultimately the recruitment philosophy behind it. That’s a very different position from relying on the same supplier tools used by rivals.

It also fits within broader industry trends:

Industry Shifts Accelerating AI Adoption

• More clubs are moving from generic data providers to proprietary, in-house recruitment systems—especially in the Premier League, Bundesliga and MLS.
• Generative AI is shifting from media and fan engagement into technical operations, including player projection, tactical modelling and injury-risk analysis.
• Cloud-based scouting is expanding global reach, allowing clubs to track emerging markets and identify undervalued talent earlier.

Crayon VP Tim Ellefsen says the West Ham partnership will help the club “push the boundaries of what this technology can achieve,” referencing earlier Bundesliga innovations in automated recruitment intelligence.

AWS, meanwhile, continues strengthening its position as the infrastructure backbone for elite sport. Formula 1, the NFL, the Bundesliga and the PGA Tour are already using AWS to analyse athlete performance and optimise decision-making — football recruitment is simply the next frontier.

What This Means for the Transfer Market

West Ham’s move signals something bigger than a single club’s modernisation project: it reflects where the global talent market is heading. The top clubs no longer want to just access data — they want to model it, manipulate it and build competitive advantage from it.

A bespoke AI system lets West Ham identify players earlier, compare them more accurately and challenge assumptions that typically shape the transfer market. For instance, instead of relying on highlight reels or subjective comparisons, the system can show how a midfielder in South America statistically mirrors the role output of someone like Pascal Groß — or how a Championship full-back’s progression data aligns with players who later became top-six starters.

Reliable sources like The Athletic, StatsBomb reports, and FIFA’s Global Transfer Market Review have repeatedly noted the same trend: the clubs gaining the biggest edge aren’t necessarily spending the most—they’re the ones interpreting data the best.

West Ham’s new platform won’t magically deliver the next Declan Rice overnight. But it gives the club a clearer, more objective map of where the next undervalued Rice-type profile could be hiding—before the rest of the market spots him.

If the system works as planned, West Ham could turn smart data ownership into a long-term competitive advantage. And in a Premier League where transfer margins are razor-thin, that might be one of the smartest signings the club makes all decade.