Two of the three prospective Chelsea owners have made it their priority to sign a technical director should their bid prove successful, according to The Athletic. The position at Stamford Bridge has been vacant since late 2017 after Michael Emenalo left and, ultimately, the Blues have suffered in his absence.
Todd Boehly’s consortium, Stephen Pagliuca and a group headed by Sir Martin Broughton remain in the running to take Chelsea off of Roman Abramovich's hands after the Ricketts family withdrew their proposal. Two of which, who have remained unnamed in the report, want to reshape the west London side's transfer model, with AS Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell at the top of their list.
The former Wigan Athletic and MK Dons player worked alongside Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham and helped the north London side bring in the likes of Son Heung-min and Dele Alli. The Athletic outline that Mitchell, who has two years left on deal with the French side, faces an uncertain future in Ligue 1 amid rising tensions in the boardroom.
READ MORE: Who is Paul Mitchell? The ex-Tottenham recruitment expert being monitored by Chelsea and Man Utd
Mitchell is famed for his shrewd signings so we, Carefree Chelsea at football.london, delved into what will definitely happen at the Blues if he's recruited by the prospective new owners. And, there's a lot to be excited about.
Tuchel backed by data-driven signings
Thomas Tuchel has only ever been gifted one outfield player on a permanent basis since arriving at Chelsea — Romelu Lukaku. It hasn't quite worked out for the Belgium international, who joined from Inter Milan in the summer for an eye-watering £97.5million.
The 28-year-old striker has struggled to sing from the same hymn sheet as his teammates in west London. So, with a world-leading sporting director at the helm, the Blues boss will be able to make tactically astute signings that fit complement his philosophies.
Chelsea solve £132m problem
By bringing in a sporting director of Mitchell's calibre, Chelsea will finally be able to sway away from the numerous high-profile transfer mistakes that they've made in the past. Since the Blues last won the Premier League, the club has spent £132million on Alvaro Morata and Kepa Arrizabalaga alone.
In the same time frame, Manchester City and Liverpool have respectively signed Bernardo Silva and Luis Diaz for a combined £80million. Not only will Tuchel be able to bridge Chelsea's gap with their rivals through analysis-driven signings but shrewd ones too.
The West London side haven't had a problem with putting the money where their mouth is. The problem has been putting too much food on their spoon.
Major boost over rivals
Chelsea would be securing a massive boost towards a Premier League title if the new owners were to secure Mitchell's services. The Athletic note that both Manchester United and Newcastle have been linked with the sporting director in the past, though the Magpies have since raided Brighton for transfer guru Dan Ashworth instead.
A deal failed the materialise and now reports claim that a handful of prospective Blues owners are interested in luring the transfer guru to Stamford Bridge. With world-class sporting directors relatively hard to come by at the moment, Chelsea would be making a very powerful move on the chess board.
Potential leverage in Tchouameni deal
Aurelien Tchouameni was on the Blues' transfer shopping list in the summer but the board opted against signing him because they felt as if the midfielder could have done with another 12 months of development, as per The Athletic. football.london understands that Chelsea have spent more time keeping an eye on the 22-year-old than any other club. But the Blues have since been made to pay the price for their naivety to not put pen to paper.
According to a fresh report from Spanish publication AS, Real Madrid have now 'decided to go after' Tchouameni and negotiations between the club and Monaco have seen 'advances in recent weeks'. As per Marca, via the Daily Mail, earlier this year, the French outfit are demanding £83million for their prized asset.
If Chelsea were to land Mitchell, he'd be arriving from Monaco. While it may be a stretch, it may be just enough to tempt Tchouameni away from Los Blancos' interest.
