The biggest clubs in the world have rich sources of talent and money to spend on identifying and recruiting the best footballers all over the globe.

But for clubs outside of the top leagues, expanding their talent pool, scouting and recruiting talent beyond a restricted network of domestic clubs and trusted contacts is very difficult.

That challenge has been no different for Gillingham FC in League Two, the fourth tier of English football.

But now they can identify and get access to any player worldwide through TransferRoom.

TransferRoom is football’s only marketplace, where the decision-makers at 800+ clubs and 500+ Trusted Agencies across over 100 leagues connect directly and do transfer business.

It’s an online platform and through TransferRoom, Gillingham can get direct access to that huge global network.

On the platform they can also see in-depth performance stats and player data such as Expected Transfer Value (xTV), see player availability and clubs’ financial requirements, and pitch players, declare interest in players and see what clubs are looking for.

Brad Galinson, the Chairman of Gillingham, said: “Having a spot where you can see all of the players around the world, all the different leagues and it, and it ranks them and it rates them and then having immediate access to declare interest and message either the club or the agent. It just makes a very tedious process that much more efficient.

Why Gillingham joined TransferRoom

“You need the information and you need it quickly. Short of flying over to Colombia and knocking on doors, this actually gives you access pretty much to any player in the world including South America, which is, which is our particular interest.”

Kenny Jackett, with over two decades of experience as the Manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Queens Park Rangers, Portsmouth, Millwall, Swansea City and others, is the Director of Football at Gillingham. 

After the Gills joined the platform in January 2024, he quickly saw the benefit and thinks the wealth of data at his disposal via TransferRoom is pivotal.

“I think you'd be silly not to use data whenever you're making a decision on anybody, whether that's a player or coach,” Jackett says. “That's where TransferRoom are strong. 

Left to right: Kenny Jackett and TransferRoom's Senior Business Development Specialist Laurence Burton

“We used it in our January Transfer Window and we actually got a centre-forward from it, a really good player from Watford called Jorge Hurtado. Just on the last day of the window, Watford wanted to get him out for some experience.

“The amount of things that you can learn on that platform just in one day. It's a very constructive one. It's easy to use and it's easy to communicate on as well. When you're in and around the transfer window, your time is really important and you can't spend a lot of it chasing down blind alleys.”

Galinson and Jackett were speaking at the TransferRoom Summit in Rome, Italy, where over 300 clubs and a selection of top agencies met for one-to-one meetings and exclusive networking. The event saves weeks’ worth of transfer talks and travelling over just two days, in one venue.

Check out our latest TransferRoom events and register for our next one at transferroom.com/summits.