Chelsea are not the first club that have tried to tempt Christoph Freund away from Red Bull Salzburg. Eintracht Frankfurt considered an approach for the 45-year-old last year. And RB Leipzig – Salzburg's sister club in Germany – was also mooted as a potential destination for the sporting director 12 months ago.
Yet Freund always remained in Austria; his commitment to the club clear. "I don't know what will happen in two, three, four years but my contract runs until 2023," he told Sky a little more than 12 months ago. "Contracts are there to be kept; you should also be a role model.
"I have nothing that is pulling me away from here. The content of the work suits me so well that I don't know anywhere else that I could get such a complete package." Enter new Chelsea co-owner and chairman Todd Boehly, and his fellow co-controlling owners and business partners Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano.
