Toulouse FC revamp recruitment team with three new scouts
Toulouse FC have significantly strengthened their recruitment department with the appointment of three new scouts, according to a report from L'Équipe. The Ligue 1 club, which has been rebuilding its scouting structure under sporting director Viktor Bezhani since the start of the year, has finalized its new team around pioneering head of recruitment Julia Arpizou. The moves signal a continued shift for a club once seen as a data pioneer, now aiming to blend analytical and traditional scouting methods.
The new arrivals bring complementary and sometimes atypical profiles to the Stade Toulousain. Vincent Pedauge, 29, joins after a career path that began in video analysis at Nancy and included a role within the City Football Group, where he was assigned to monitor Troyes. Notably, Pedauge previously gained recognition as an editor for the popular simulation game 'Football Manager'. Described by former colleagues as reliable and discreet, he is expected to leverage his extensive knowledge of the French market for Toulouse.
Pedro Evangelista, 34, arrives from Strasbourg, where he had built a strong reputation since 2019. The Portuguese scout, who is based in his home country and holds qualifications to work in the Premier League, is a specialist in the Iberian and South American markets. During his time at Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace, he was instrumental in identifying talents like Andrey Santos and Valentin Barco before their moves to the club, and repeatedly recommended Tiago Santos, now at Lille. His extensive global network is viewed as a major asset for Toulouse's future operations.
Completing the trio is Daniel Sandu, the 33-year-old former head of recruitment and sporting director at Rapid Bucharest. The Romanian scout will be tasked with covering Southern and Eastern Europe for Toulouse. Sandu is known within the industry for his modern approach and has been a regular participant at networking events like TransferRoom. He is credited with successful discoveries such as Kosovar striker Albion Rrahmani, who was later sold for a significant profit to Sparta Prague.
These appointments follow the reconstruction of a full recruitment cell earlier this year, a process led by Bezhani. In a statement, the sporting director emphasized the goal of assembling a team with significant experience and solid expertise. The strategic hires cover key geographical regions—France, Iberia and South America, and Eastern Europe—providing Toulouse with a wide-ranging and modernized scouting footprint. The club's recruitment strategy has been in a state of transition following a significant organizational shift last summer, moving away from a model heavily reliant on data analytics under the previous ownership.
The restructured department now faces the immediate task of supporting Toulouse's sporting objectives, which include securing the long-term future of key players like goalkeeper Guillaume Restes and advancing contract talks with manager Carles Martinez Novell. For the new scouts, their work begins in earnest as they look to identify the talent that will help Toulouse consolidate its position in Ligue 1 and build a competitive squad for the coming seasons.
