Sign up to FREE email alerts from Football London - West Ham Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

West Ham have confirmed the appointment of Mario Husillos as the club's director of football.

Following the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini as the club's new manager last month, the 59-year-old was expected to follow the Chilean to the London Stadium having worked with him previously.

Leicester City transfer guru Eduardo Macia was also in the race for the post but Husillos has penned a three-year deal in east London.

Having worked as sporting director at Malaga, the club's new director of football was credited with bringing a number of talented players to La Rosaleda.

But who is Husillos? We don't know a lot about the Argentine so here's a handy guide to who West Ham are set to have in charge of their transfer comings and goings.

Armando Mario Husillos was the sports director of Malaga for three years with Pellegrini but has little experience in terms of management, leading only Almagro in Argentina and Real Murcia.

As a player, he turned out for various clubs in Argentina such Boca Juniors and San Lorenzo de Almagro and in Spain, Malaga and Tenerife. He is also a close friend of Ruben Cousillas, who is expected to be named as Pellegrini's assistant in the capital.

(Image: Malaga CF)

Under the transfer guidance of Husillos at Malaga, the Spanish side reached the quarter finals of the Champions League and is known as a good judge of player.

Working with Pellegrini in Spain, Husillos helped sign and develop the likes of Isco, Nacho Monreal, Juanmi, Joaquin, Jesus Gamez and Jeremy Toulalan before all were sold on for big profits.

(Image: Jorge Guerrero/AFP/GettyImages)

Husillos has always paid special attention to the development of the academies and to the largest possible use of academy players, something that Pellegrini has said he will do as well while he is West Ham manager.

There is a black mark against Husillos however and that was his return to Malaga at the start of this year after he was brought back from Olympiakos in Greece. Husillos was handed the keys to the January transfer window and made eight signings as the Spanish side battled relegation.

However, none of them managed to settle in at La Rosaleda and Malaga ended up being relegation to the Segunda Division. One of those signings was Watford striker Isaac Success who displayed anything but what his surname indicates as he failed to score in ten appearances.

The finger was firmly pointed at Husillos for Malaga's horrendous season but to be fair, the damage was already done though it is thought the Hammers have had some reservations over Husillos because of that.

Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusive from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android.

Available to download from the App Store and Google Play.