Chelsea are reportedly close to appointing Christoph Freund as their new sporting director, to bring an end to a months-long search following Todd Boehly 's takeover of the club in May.
Former technical director Petr Cech left his role upon Boehly's arrival, alongside fellow transfer chief Marina Granovskaia. Those exits left a large hole in the Blues' recruitment team, with Boehly himself stepping up as interim sporting director.
The American has faced accusations of being out of his depth in that role, with manager Thomas Tuchel being sacked two weeks' ago. Graham Potter was quickly appointed as the German's replacement, with Boehly set to add another face to the football department at Stamford Bridge.
According to reports, the Blues are close to bringing in Red Bull Salzburg chief Freund as their new sporting director. It is stated that personal terms have been agreed between Chelsea and Freund.
Salzburg have been informed, though the Blues are yet to finalise an agreement over compensation with the Austrian side. Freund is renowned for handing Erling Haaland his first shot in the Champions League.
He has also discovered many other players, including Sadio Mane, Naby Keita and Dayot Upamecano. If the deal to bring him to Stamford Bridge is agreed, he will likely be handed a large transfer kitty to mould the squad to Potter's desires.
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Earlier this week, Freund had refused to rule out making the move to the Premier League. At the same time, he hailed Chelsea as a "huge club", though did point out that they are in a transitional phase.
"You should never rule anything out in football and Chelsea are such a huge club. But I'm sports director in Salzburg and I really enjoy it. Chelsea is a huge club in transition. I can't say exactly what will happen in the next few weeks and months," he told Sky Sports Austria.
"I've had exchanges with Chelsea from time to time. We spoke more often a month or two ago because they were interested in [striker Benjamin] Sesko. The new owners are interested in how we do it with young players, how we integrate them into the first team. But you do that again and again with other clubs – that's it."
Freund is not thought to have been Boehly's top target though, with PSG advisor Luis Campos instead the man who the American wanted. Campos only arrived in the French capital over the summer, being charged with finally bringing the Champions League trophy.
He is highly regarded, having built the Monaco and Lille squads that won the Ligue 1 title. But despite being offered £135,000 per week to move to the Blues, Campos has insisted that he is happy at the Parc des Princes.
"I have a three-year deal here at PSG, as I wanted, and I've joined this club because I'm convinced we can do something extraordinary. I've the right energy to fight for PSG and do something great here," Campos told RMC.
