Chelsea have confirmed the appointment of Joe Shields as the club's co-director of recruitment and talent.
Shields has joined from Southampton, where he was the Head of Senior Recruitment down on the south coast. Before moving to the Saints, Shields spent almost a decade at Manchester City, working behind the scenes with the club's scouting department.
Upon Shields' arrival at Stamford Bridge, where he will start his role "when his obligations with Southampton are complete", Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have been speaking about the appointment.
READ MORE: Chelsea confirm 'important' Laurence Stewart appointment to help complete major Todd Boehly plan
"Joe is another great addition to Chelsea, and we’re thrilled to have him on board," a joint statement read. "We have a clear plan and will adopt a modern and data-driven philosophy, focused on elite emerging talent.
"We’re assembling a deep and collaborative management team who are eager to build a continued sustained winner at Chelsea. Joe has a great track record and understanding of the game and emerging talent. We know we have another strong leader and a team player who will help us continue to build our world-class football organisation."
The news comes directly 24 hours after Chelsea confirmed that Laurence Stewart will join the club as a technical director to focus on football globally. The club are appointing multiple people to operate behind the scenes, with all the recruitment so far hinting at the multi-club model Boehly has already spoken about.
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