A real picture of what recruitment will look like at Chelsea is beginning to emerge, after the Todd Boehly-Clearlake takeover in the summer.
Those close to the new regime admit they had a chaotic summer transfer window, spending a world record £273million, but they feel they had no other choice after entering the market late and having to learn on the job. The summer is not reflective of how they want to do business in the future.
Since then, Thomas Tuchel has since been sacked, along with almost a dozen department heads across the business, including a host of key figures in recruitment.
With director Marina Granovskaia, technical advisor Petr Cech and head of international scouting Scott McLachlan all gone, co-owner Boehly named himself interim sporting director. It was a brave move.
Chelsea made 11 major summer signings. Although Boehly enjoyed it, and many believe the squad is better than before, the American understands that approach is not sustainable.
The club has begun making appointments which will mean Boehly is a little less hands-on, with Joe Shields on gardening leave at Southampton after agreeing a contract to join the Blues as a co-director of the scouting department.
Boehly came across Shields when negotiating to sign 18-year-old Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia after he scored against Chelsea in August.
It was a remarkable move from Chelsea, who looked to sign a player who had been at Southampton for less than two months after joining from Manchester City in the summer. Shields also joined Southampton only in the summer from City, where he worked with Pep Guardiola.
He is one of two people to replace McLachlan, with Kyle Macaulay being brought in by new head coach Graham Potter to also ensure he gets the right kind of players. It allows Potter to keep his involvement in recruitment discussions to a minimum and focus on coaching.
Chelsea are also set to bring in Christopher Vivell as technical director after he left his post at RB Leipzig a fortnight ago. Like Shields and Macaulay, Vivell is in his 30s but boasts huge experience, working his way up from a Hoffenheim video analyst to Leipzig’s technical director for the past two seasons.
Todd Boehly has enjoyed working at Chelsea so much that he wants to remain part of the transfer picture
Vivell is more of a replacement for Cech but has yet to fully complete the paperwork on his move. His role will not be fully defined until two further positions — head of football and sporting director — are filled.
Those close to the process have revealed that Boehly has enjoyed working at Chelsea so much he wants to remain part of the transfer picture. It may have scared off some potential options for the role, who feel they might not have the desired control over operations.
Indeed, Boehly will present his shortlist of potential transfer targets to all new appointees, having logically decided that central midfield is the next big priority.
Borussia Dortmund and England wonderkid Jude Bellingham has emerged as a top target, amid huge competition from a host of top European clubs, including Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Real Madrid. West Ham skipper Declan Rice is also admired by some of the Chelsea board.
That clarity of thought from the owners is daunting to any new sporting director, who will enter a unique situation of engaged bosses who have done the jobs themselves. They will, however, work within a cash-rich, ambitious environment as Chelsea’s transfer structure begins to take shape.
