I assume it played a part, in exactly the same way as it would have with Hamer & to a point Gyökeres, Sheaf etc etc.
I know Jobello was identified by one of the scouts whilst watching games in France though rather than initially flagged by data.
To a point yes, same as at most top clubs now. The difference with us is Robins always has the final say (except for U23 signings like Cashman, McCallum etc which he allows the relevant Academy staff to sign off on). He has always been a big advocate of watching players himself though &, as STP says, will be looking to step that up with any possible foreign signings to try & avoid anymore missteps but it's far from an exact science & we get far more right than wrong.