Lee Darnbrough

Lee Darnbrough (born 15 September 1977) is an English association football scout and recruitment officer, who is the Head of Recruitment at club Port Vale.
Darnbrough played non-League football as a goalkeeper at Garforth Town, before being employed as an analyst at West Bromwich Albion in 2004. He spent eight years at the club before working as Head of Recruitment at Burnley from 2012 to 2015. He spent 2015 to 2017 as Head of Scouting at Norwich City. He spent the next seven years as Hull City's Head of Recruitment, before eight months in the same role at Stoke City. He joined Port Vale as Head of Recruitment in June 2025.
Early and personal life
Darnbrough was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, but was brought up in Mossley. Before his scouting career, he was on track to become a professional footballer, playing as a goalkeeper. He came through the National School of Excellence in Lilleshall, run by the FA. However, his chances of succeeding were soon cut short when he broke his wrist at the age of 19. He was unable to return to form after recovering and swiftly retired. He has supported Oldham Athletic since childhood. He was appointed the new Head of Recruitment at Burnley in November 2012. He left the club after their relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2014-15 season. In July 2015, Darnbrough joined Norwich City as their Head of Scouting. He left the club in April 2017.
Following their relegation to the Championship at the end of the 2016-17 season, Hull City appointed Darnbrough as their new Head of Recruitment. Across seven years in the East Riding of Yorkshire, he worked with five separate managers; Leonid Slutsky, Nigel Adkins, Grant McCann, Shota Arveladze, and finally Liam Rosenior. In June 2024, Darnbrough replaced the outgoing Jared Dublin as Head of Recruitment at Stoke City. Coincidentally, Dublin then took Darnbrough's old position at Hull two months later. After less than a year with the Potters, the club parted ways with Darnbrough in February 2025. In June 2025, Darnbrough joined newly promoted League One side Port Vale under Darren Moore, despite with previous employers Stoke.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu