Will Salthouse
West Ham Power Broker

UK

€1.2bn

Key Facts

Date of birth: 1 February 1981
Nationality/residence: British – based in England
FIFA Agent Licence: FIFA-licensed football agent (individual licence ID not publicly disclosed)
Other registrations: The FA – Registered Intermediary IMS000092 (active since at least 2015)
Primary agency / company: Unique Sports Group (formerly Unique Sports Management)
Job Title: Football Intermediary / Player Agent; Founder & CEO, Unique Sports Group
Client capacity: Large, multi-agent stable – Players – Total market value: approx. €1.20bn across c. 640–650 players globally
Languages: English (native)
Base Locations: London / Manchester (UK HQ) – network offices in Germany (Karlsruhe, Munich), Spain (Barcelona), Ivory Coast (Abidjan), UAE (Dubai) and South Korea (Seoul)
Specialisms: Premier League and Bundesliga; elite defenders and wide players; emerging English talent; pathway management for U17–U23 prospects; cross-border UK–Germany moves
Email: info@uniquesg.com
Phone / WhatsApp: +44 (0)1923 631 039 (Unique Sports Group office)
Website / Socials:
– Website (agency): https://www.uniquesg.com
– Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willsalthouse
– Agency Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uniquesg.uk
– Personal X: https://x.com/WSalthouse
– Agency X: https://x.com/UniqueSG
– Agency Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uniquesportsgroup
– Personal LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/will-salthouse
– Agency LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/company/unique-sports-group

About Will Salthouse

Will Salthouse is a British football agent and founder of Unique Sports Group (USG), one of Europe’s largest multi-sport representation agencies with a client portfolio now exceeding €1.1–1.2bn in market value. Born in 1981 and the son of actor and former professional player John Salthouse, he moved into representation rather than media, initially building a network around English footballers and even co-owning racehorses with figures such as Harry Redknapp. In 2008 he founded Will Salthouse Management, which evolved into Unique Sports Management and was later merged with Germany’s International Sports Management in 2021 to form Unique Sports Group, operating from multiple offices across the UK, Germany and South America.

Under Salthouse’s leadership, USG has grown into a top-five global football agency by client value, representing hundreds of players across the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and other top divisions, including high-profile names such as Anthony Gordon, Dayot Upamecano, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Hakan Çalhanoglu, Matthias Ginter, Ryan Sessegnon and Kevin Volland. The group has also been particularly active in nurturing elite youth talent, with Arsenal prodigy Ethan Nwaneri and Spurs forward Mikey Moore among the academy stars whose professional contracts have been celebrated on USG channels.

Salthouse’s model is built around 360° talent management: player contract work sits alongside commercial deals, lifestyle support, data-driven performance analysis, and specialist legal and tax input, delivered through a large in-house team that includes a Director of Football, a Head of Data & Recruitment, a Head of Legal and a dedicated lifestyle unit. He prefers to stay relatively low-profile personally – his social presence is minimal – but his influence is well documented, especially around West Ham United, where multiple reports have highlighted his close relationship with co-owner David Sullivan and the number of USG-linked signings and exits.

In 2024–25, private equity firm Velocity Capital invested over US$100m into Unique Sports Group, with Salthouse framing the deal as a way to keep USG independent while adding new “verticals” to compete with the largest global agencies in football and beyond. The agency has simultaneously pushed CSR and brand-building initiatives, notably the “Ever been told you can’t?”/#BeUnique campaign, in which clients share stories of overcoming setbacks – positioning USG as more than just a deal-making shop. Despite facing FA charges related to intermediary conduct – which he has denied – Salthouse remains one of the most influential and debated figures in the modern football agency landscape.

Highlights:

• Experienced Premier League and Bundesliga deal-maker, comfortable with eight-figure transfer structures and complex add-on clauses

• Builds large, multi-league rosters via strategic mergers and a global office footprint

• Strong West Ham United access and influence through long-standing personal relationships with ownership

• Holistic support set-up, combining data, performance analytics, commercial, legal and lifestyle services in-house

• Publicly stresses independence and controlled growth even after major private-equity investment

Career Snapshot

Origin story:
Salthouse began in football representation in the 2000s, formalising his operation in 2008 when he set up what became Unique Sports Management, initially focusing on English talent in the London–Watford corridor. Leveraging connections from both football and horse racing, he built an early client base of domestic professionals and prospects before shifting decisively towards elite Premier League and Bundesliga profiles.

Milestones:

• 2008 – Incorporation of Unique Sports Management Ltd

• 2010s – Represents high-level Premier League players, as USM becomes a recognised English agency

• 2019 – Involved in top-end Premier League deals such as Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s move from Crystal Palace to Manchester United

• 2021 – Orchestrates the merger of Unique Sports Management and International Sports Management to form Unique Sports Group, a top-five global football agency by client value

• 2021–22 – Launches the “Ever been told you can’t?”/#BeUnique social campaign fronted by multiple international players

• 2023 – Anthony Gordon joins Newcastle United from Everton in a high-value move that underlines USG’s Premier League clout

• 2023 – Brennan Johnson’s transfer from Nottingham Forest to Tottenham Hotspur cements USG’s status in major English attacking deals

• 2024 – Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri signs his first professional contract, a flagship youth-development landmark for USG

• 2025 – Velocity Capital takes a major stake in USG in a reported nine-figure investment, with Salthouse remaining CEO

Network strengths:

• Deep access at West Ham United and the wider London market

• Strong relationships with Premier League and Championship academies for English youth internationals

• Robust German network via the ISMG merger, especially in the Bundesliga

• Global reach through offices in Spain, Ivory Coast, UAE and Korea, creating routes into European, African and Asian markets

Support Team / Partners

• Marlon Fleischmann – Managing Director (football operations and business development)

• Steve Hitchen – Director of Football (recruitment strategy, scouting and club liaison)

• James Tunnicliffe – Technical Director (performance and data projects)

• John Harrower – Head of Data & Recruitment (video, analytics and squad-building)

• Will Hill – Head of Legal (contracts, disputes and regulatory compliance)

• Lifestyle and admin team – Jessica Bailey and colleagues across lifestyle, logistics and administration

• Velocity Capital Management – strategic investment partner providing capital, governance support and international sports experience

Client Roster

(Representative selection – USG’s full roster runs into several hundred players.)

Top players and talents (current):

• Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United) – Winger – England – 24 February 2001

• Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich) – Centre-back – France – 27 October 1998

• Hakan Çalhanoglu (Inter Milan) – Central midfielder – Turkey – 8 February 1994

• Matthias Ginter (SC Freiburg) – Centre-back – Germany – 19 January 1994

• Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham United) – Right-back – DR Congo – 26 November 1997

• Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace) – Centre-back – England – 13 July 2000

• Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham) – Left-back / winger – England – 18 May 2000

• Kevin Volland (TSV 1860 Munich) – Forward – Germany – 30 July 1992

• Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal) – Attacking midfielder – England – 21 March 2007

• Mikey Moore (Tottenham Hotspur) – Forward – England – 2007

Note: Reece James was listed as a USG client at the time of the 2021 merger but is now shown with a different agency on public databases, so he is treated as a former client.

Coaches/Staff represented (if any)

• Julen Lopetegui – repeatedly linked in the media as being allied to USG during his appointment at West Ham United

(Other coaching relationships may exist but are not always fully disclosed in public sources.)

Notable former clients

• Reece James – Chelsea and England defender; previously listed as a USG client before switching representation

• Wilfried Zaha – Forward associated with Salthouse/USM representation during key stages of his Crystal Palace career

Notable Deals Led by Will Salthouse

• 2019 – Aaron Wan-Bissaka: Crystal Palace → Manchester United, c. £45–50m, long-term contract

• 2019 – Ryan Sessegnon: Fulham → Tottenham Hotspur, widely reported around £25m including add-ons

• 2021 – Dayot Upamecano: RB Leipzig → Bayern Munich, reported €40m+ release-clause move on a multi-year deal

• 2021 – Hakan Çalhanoglu: AC Milan → Inter Milan, high-profile free transfer across Milan

• 2021–22 – Matthias Ginter: contract work and subsequent move to SC Freiburg as part of USG’s German platform

• 2023 – Anthony Gordon: Everton → Newcastle United, fee reported around £40–45m/€45–50m plus bonuses

• 2023 – Brennan Johnson: Nottingham Forest → Tottenham Hotspur, fee reported around £47.5m/€55m with a long-term contract

• 2024 – Ethan Nwaneri: first professional contract at Arsenal, record-level academy deal for the club

• 2023–25 – Multiple West Ham transactions, including Michail Antonio’s extension, Pablo Fornals’ sale and Callum Wilson’s signing, all widely linked to USG involvement

Track Record (last 3 seasons)

(Approximate ranges based on public transfer records, FA intermediary summaries and media reports.)

• Total transfers completed: c. 80–120 player transfers/loans across the USG group since 2022

• Deals ≥ €10m: at least 15–20 major transfers, including Gordon, Johnson, Wan-Bissaka, Upamecano and Sessegnon

• Clients in top-5 leagues: around 100–130 players across the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1

• National team clients: 20+ senior internationals for England, Germany, Turkey, DR Congo and other nations

• Renewal/extension deals: regular Premier League and Bundesliga renewals, including several high-profile contract extensions

• Aggregate client market value: approx. €1.20bn as of late 2025 (Unique Sports Group portfolio)

Compliance & Accreditation

• Registered Intermediary with The Football Association (Intermediary No. IMS000092)

• Operates under FIFA Football Agent Regulations, with USG appearing as a verified agency on major public databases

• Faced FA charges in 2022 relating to intermediary conduct; Salthouse has denied wrongdoing and the case was referred to a paper hearing

• Post-investment, USG has emphasised strengthened governance, risk management and regulatory compliance as part of its partnership with Velocity Capital

Testimonials

• Will Salthouse on the USM–ISMG merger:
  “We are delighted to welcome ISMG to the Unique family and believe this joint vision will allow us to maximise our European network at a time when interest in UK-based players from across the continent continues to grow.”

• Gordon Stipic-Wipfler (European CEO, USG):
  “With this partnership we are establishing our leading role in professional football. The Premier League and Bundesliga are two of the best football leagues in the world and the dream of every professional football player.”

• David Abrams (Velocity Capital) on USG:
  Describes working with Salthouse and USG as a pleasure and highlights the agency’s scale and professionalism as key reasons for investing.

• Media characterisation:
  UK and European outlets regularly describe Unique Sports Group as one of Europe’s largest independent football agencies, with a portfolio in the high hundreds of millions of euros and a roster of more than 300 players.

Press, Awards & Recognition

• 2021 – USM–ISMG merger widely reported as creating a top-five global football agency by client market value and roster size

• 2021–22 – “Ever been told you can’t?”/#BeUnique CSR and storytelling campaign covered by major sports media

• 2022–25 – Regular in-depth coverage of Salthouse’s influence at West Ham United and debates around “preferred agents” in the Premier League

• 2025 – Velocity Capital’s nine-figure investment in USG reported as one of the landmark private-equity deals in European football representation