Todd Boehly has relinquished his title as Chelsea’s interim sporting director and remains steadfastly supportive of head coach Graham Potter.
Chelsea’s co-controlling owner Boehly made himself interim sporting director following the departures of Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech last summer and led transfer negotiations himself.
But, after hiring a new recruitment team, some of whom have started work in this month’s transfer window, Boehly has dropped the sporting director title and is now just Chelsea’s chairman.
While Boehly will still take a part in Chelsea’s spending, the American and his co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali have handed the bulk of the responsibility of Chelsea’s transfers to new technical director Christopher Vivell and Paul Winstanley, who was appointed as director of global talent and transfers.
Vivell and Winstanley were pictured either side of new signing Benoit Badiashile last week and the duo are leading Chelsea’s strategy, not just for this month but beyond.
The pair will be officially joined by Joe Shields, who has been appointed as co-director of recruitment and talent, and Laurence Stewart, who has been given the title of technical director to focus on football globally, when they start work next month.
Boehly only ever saw his interim sporting director position as a short-term role to help get Chelsea through the summer window and to plug a gap while he and Eghbali searched for the right recruitment specialists.
Winstanley and Vivell have been charged with combining Chelsea’s strategy of trying to buy some of the best young talent in the world along with attempting to strengthen Potter’s squad.
Chelsea ideally want to sign a back-up right-back to Reece James, a new midfielder and a wide forward but it remains to be seen whether or not they will be able to fill all of those positions this month.
Chelsea’s Reece James (left) looks frustrated after walking off the field injured during the Premier League match at Stamford Bridge, London.
Benfica rejected a bid for Enzo Fernandez, while talks have been held with Shakhtar Donetsk over Mykhailo Mudryk and Atletico Madrid about taking Joao Felix on an initial loan. But finding a deputy to James is considered one of the most important and difficult tasks.
With James considered one of the best right-backs in the world and due back from injury next month, Chelsea face a tough task in trying to sell the position as his stand-in to players of the required quality.
Telegraph Sport reported last week that Chelsea’s owners remain supportive of Potter and that has not changed following the FA Cup defeat to Manchester City.
Boehly and Co are understanding of the impact made by the crippling injury crisis that has hit Potter, while there is also acknowledgement that the likes of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta were all given time at Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal.
There is confidence that results and performances will improve as players start to return from injury and the Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership have not been swayed in their faith by chants for former coach Thomas Tuchel and ex-owner Roman Abramovich at the FA Cup defeat to City.
Chelsea are waiting on the result of a second scan on Raheem Sterling, who pulled his hamstring in the first minute of last Thursday night’s League defeat to City
