Chelsea ‘in talks’ with RB Salzburg’s Christoph Freund as sporting director
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Chelsea are ‘in talks with the man who saw Erling Haaland as their new sporting director’… as owner Todd Boehly wants to continue his Stamford Bridge revolution by appointing Red Bull Salzburg’s Christoph Freund
- Chelsea looks to RB Salzburg chief Christoph Freund for the role of sporting director
- Freund was responsible for bringing Erling Haaland to Austria in 2019
- Todd Boeh would like to adapt the Red Bull model to the Chelsea brand in the future
- Blues face the Austrian club in Champions League action on Wednesday
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Chelsea are reportedly in talks with RB Salzburg’s Christoph Freund about the vacant sporting director position at the club.
Owner Todd Boehly is keen to name a new name in that role, which was part of the structure that was sold to new manager Graham Potter on taking the job at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues, who will play Salzburg in the Champions League on Wednesday, have earmarked Freund, the mastermind behind the Austrian club’s success and the man who was able to bring Erling Haaland to Salzburg, for a number of top European clubs, for the key position .
Christoph Freund is currently in talks with Chelsea about the role of sporting director of the club
The 45-year-old would also oversee a potential network of football clubs under the Chelsea brand, in a similar way to what has been introduced in the Red Bull model.
At the SALT conference in New York, Boehly spoke about the branding model and moving away from the extensive use of people on loan by West Londoners.
“We talked about a multi-club model,” Boehly said.
“I think there are several countries where there are advantages to having a club. Red Bull has Salzburg and Leipzig in the Champions League.
Freund was the man who saw Erling Haaland and brought the Norwegian to Salzburg
Blues owner Todd Boehly is keen to adapt the same multi-club network to the Chelsea brand
‘I want to further expand the footprint. I think there are several countries where there are advantages to having a club.
‘We know people and human capital. We understand game plans and strategies. We don’t expect to be the football experts to find the best talent, we’re going to put those people in their place.
“The challenge Chelsea has, when you have 18, 19, 20-year-old superstars, you can loan them out to clubs, but you put their development in someone else’s hands.
The sporting director role was part of the plan with new manager Graham Potter
“Our aim is to make sure we can show our young superstars the way onto the Chelsea pitch while also giving them real playing time. The way to do that is through another club in a really competitive league in Europe.”
In addition to Freund, Chelsea have shortlisted ex-Liverpool director Michael Edwards and PGS adviser Luis Campos as possible alternatives to the sporting director role, according to reports.
Boehly sacked Thomas Tuchel as Chelsea manager last week and appointed Graham Potter to succeed him.
Potter’s first game in charge is Wednesday’s Champions League match against Salzburg at Stamford Bridge.