Lee Congerton: I got stick for signing Rasmus Hojlund... until we sold him to Man Utd for £72m

In some quarters, Atalanta’s 3-0 win at Anfield was seen as the shock of European football last week, but it came as no surprise to Lee Congerton after the Welshman spent the past two years at Stadio di Bergamo crafting the team.

Two of the goals came from a summer signing in Gianluca Scamacca, with one set up by Belgium international Charles De Ketelaere, who had been recruited in the same window. There was a Brazilian and an Albanian in the team and a Croatian midfielder also scored.

Those watching in shock may not have known it was Rhyl-born Congerton who had revamped the Italian team.

By his own admission, Congerton has enjoyed being in the shadows during a varied but distinguished career in the world of recruitment and sporting directors. But key positions at Sunderland, Celtic and Leicester saw a track record of increasing the value of signings.

At Atalanta he signed Rasmus Hojlund in a deal rising to €20 million, then saw him leave for Manchester United in a deal worth £72million.

The win on Merseyside was no surprise as Congerton had recruited players – like Hojlund from Sturm Graz – at the right stage of their young careers with hunger to progress.

“The reality is they destroyed me in Italy during that time,” Congerton told Telegraph Sport. “This foreign guy in Italian football has bought a player from Austria, born 2003, who had been a failure in Copenhagen.

“If you take away the World Cup, 10 months later, we sold him for €85 million. That is Atalanta. It’s simple. They know what they are. They rely on the academy and the scouting.”

Not that being a sporting director is all about signing a Wesley Fofana for Leicester after his first starts at St Etienne and seeing him sold for £75 million. As Congerton explains, the key to the process working at Atalanta was the simple structure allowing them to recruit the right players, with the coach doing his work on the training pitch.

“[Gian Piero] Gasperini is not involved in any of the players,” Congerton said. “You ask him for an opinion and all he says is sell whoever you want but make sure the ones you bring in are better than the ones you sold. It’s simple.

“I’ve worked with great owners and one or two not so good that you can probably guess. Antonio Percassi, the owner, he was a professional player so understands football which is quite unique at that level of ownership. Then you have Stephen Pagliuca and his American guys who have come in and are very respectful of the local identity.

“They are business people, but they are sports people. They want to win. I asked what we want to be? They were very clear: top six, we want to be in Europe every year and want to make a profit.”

Congerton’s part was when he arrived two years ago as head of football, having previously turned them down. “Luca Percassi [CEO] kept ringing me and ringing me. They came back and said I could be whoever I want. I asked about being No 10, captain and take the penalties!

“They created a role for me, head of football, which was unique to have a British guy. You have to earn your stripes but I think they gave me all the opportunity to be successful,” he said.

He only left the Italians last month after accepting an offer to be sporting director of Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League but his fingerprints were all over the Anfield win, although Congerton has a foot in both camps after being on the Liverpool staff at the start of his career.  “I’ve also got an amazing affinity with Liverpool,” he reminds me.

Working with Ron Gourlay, who he knew at Chelsea, was a big draw for Congerton to go to Saudi. “Jeddah in particular is very good with an appetite for football and hot as you can imagine. I’ve been impressed with the football, we’ve had 50,000 at home games with a phenomenal atmosphere,” he says.

It was at Chelsea where he worked with his mentor Frank Arnesen, who he still speaks to every week. He worked with him at Hamburg during the emergence of Son Heung-min and where Hakan Calhanoglu was plucked from the lower leagues. After Germany, Congerton sees some of his work at Sunderland as his biggest success as a sporting director.

“We were bottom of the league when I arrived and the owner didn’t like football,” he said. “It was the first time on my own at a massive club and we managed to stay up with loans and frees and got better every year.”

His work at Celtic and Leicester was with Brendan Rodgers as manager and saw players such as Odsonne Edouard and Moussa Dembele arrive and leave for the big European leagues. At Leicester, Fofana was recruited and Congerton, as head of senior recruitment, was a key person in the Harry Maguire deal to Manchester United that saw him become the most expensive defender in the world.

“At Celtic we had no money,” said Congerton. “Peter Lawwell is a nice man, he’s an accountant. Brendan spoke to me and said we needed pace and power, speed. We all know PSG has an amazing youth programme with players at the time who were never going to play for PSG. Two of the other players we tried to sign during my time were [Moussa] Diaby, who is now at Aston Villa, and [Christopher] Nkunku who is now at Chelsea.

“But there were several players I didn’t want to be anywhere near them and that is why I left. Peter knows that and so did Brendan. Atalanta is very different.

“At Leicester, what an owner [Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha]. What a guy. He deserves all the praise and credit. I know they’ve had a bit of a difficult time. Wesley left, [Timothy] Castagne, Harvey [Barnes], [James] Maddison, Youri [Tielemans], you are talking top players. Players need to be hungry. If it becomes the norm and you’re not striving and there is no hunger there...

“You always need to refresh, sign at that level. I learnt at Chelsea about the mentality of the real champions – John Terry or [Michael] Ballack, a Joe Cole or Ashley Cole, [Didier] Drogba. They have hunger to win and that is what makes them so successful at what they did.”

As for personal ambition, Congerton’s career has involved several clubs so it is likely we will eventually see him in England again. “Frank always said he could see me going to different places. I have adventure in me and have been fortunate that my wife has been like that too in terms of trying something new.

“I could have stayed at each club longer but it was my choice. You get to three years and I think I need that stimulation. I like to grow things but am always excited by a new challenge.”