Todd Boehly and his co-owners have continued their major structural changes at Chelsea, this time turning to those already in place. Instead of removing people from key directorial roles, as happened over the summer, three men in place have been promoted.
Marina Granovskaia, Bruce Buck and Petr Cech all left before a transfer was completed under Boehly in a move that emptied out the corridors of Cobham, but things have changed since. The footballing characters with a proven track record of success and with methods aligned with Boehly and Co have remained and have now been given more responsibility.
These changes are added to the additions of key recruitment staff and directors on the way in. Laurence Stewart and Joe Shields are due to join in 2023 whilst Christopher Vivell is close to being announced as the new technical director. Former Brighton transfer guru Paul Winstanley has started already.
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Things are starting to take shape and that includes in the academy set-up which is preparing to be more involved than ever under Graham Potter. The manager has already taken a deep dive into looking at those available to him by taking 12 players away on the mid-season training camp to Abu Dhabi.
Although the World Cup meant that 12 players were missing and additional bodies were necessary, Potter has already shown trust in Cobham's next generation by using Lewis Hall. On top of that, summer additions Omari Hutchinson and Carney Chukwuemeka have had more of a look in under Potter than they were granted under Thomas Tuchel.
The men above Potter overseeing the academy have been rewarded for their success now, with Neil Bath, Jim Fraser and Jack Francis all being moved up in the hierarchy.
Bath's move is perhaps the most noteworthy, going from academy manager to director of football development and operations. Bath has been at Chelsea for 28 years and was in his previous role for 20 years. In his bank of players to come through, he boasts one of the best sets of youth players across the game.
In the current team, Reece James and Mason Mount take centre stage whilst Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Trevoh Chaloabh, Conor Gallagher and Armando Broja are all graduates too. Amongst those to pass through the academy in the past are Declan Rice, Jamal Musiala, Tammy Abraham, Andreas Christensen, Nathan Ake and Fikayo Tomori.
Fraser was second in command to Bath and has worked alongside him. He is now the new head of youth development and recruitment. He will be key in bringing in new players and registering them to the club. Examples of this of late are Hutchinson and Zak Sturge.
Meanwhile, Francis is now set to take on Bath's previous role of academy manager, running age groups between nine and 16 who have worked in the academy for 11 years.
The new owners are continuing to put their money where there mouth is by rewarding those that deserve it most at the club.
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