Bryan Glover, who has impressed with his work at West Ham and Burnley, is Town’s new head of academy recruitment.

He will take on the role vacated by former Town player and manager Steve Smith with immediate effect.

Glover’s role is twofold – to identify talented players to join the academy from the foundation phase (eight to 11) through every age group in the structure, and the training and enhancement of the academy scouting personnel.

After 15 years at West Ham, during which time the London club gained a reputation as one of the country’s leading academies, with the likes of Michael Carrick and Joe Cole emerging, Glover joined Burnley two years ago.

That was under the management of Eddie Howe, who will bring his current club Bournemouth to the John Smith’s Stadium for a Championship game on Saturday.

Glover left Turf Moor after Howe rejoined Bournemouth last January, and is delighted to be working for Town.

“Huddersfield Town have a growing reputation at academy level and I’m really excited about this opportunity, which will allow me to influence the recruitment strategy at Under 18 level,” he said.

“Having category two status in the Elite Player Performance Plan, combined with the superb Canalside training complex and a real commitment to developing players makes us a very attractive proposition.”

Academy manager Mark Lillis explained: “This is an important time in the academy’s development.

“We had a number of impressive applicants, but Bryan was the outstanding candidate due to his experience, reputation and track record.

“He has a very good understanding of the processes and relevant geography through his time at West Ham and Burnley and his footballing ethos fits perfectly with that of Huddersfield Town.

“Bryan will coordinate our recruitment activity throughout all age groups, with a particular focus on the foundation and youth development (12-16) phases.

“He will also help to assess potential opportunities in the professional development phase (16 upwards).

“Bryan will also play a major part in delivering our academy recruitment strategy by developing and enhancing our existing staffing, expanding our ‘footprint’ in a realistic manner and managing the processes involved in recruiting at academy level.

“We have made considerable progress in attaining category two status, but we still have a long way to go to achieve what we all want here. Bryan’s appointment is one stage further forward for us.”

William Boyle, Regan Booty and Rekeil Pyke scored as Town Under 18s began their Professional Development League 2 campaign with a 3-1 home win over Coventry.