Christoph Freund refuses to rule out becoming Chelsea’s next sporting director
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Christoph Freund calls Chelsea a ‘huge club’ and admits ‘you should never rule out anything in football’… as he refuses to downplay speculation linking him to taking over as sporting director of Stamford Bridge
- Chelsea wants to appoint a new sporting director ahead of the World Cup
- Christoph Freund is shortlisted by the club for the role and has spoken with Chelsea
- He was at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday and was asked about the position
- He has refused to join Chelsea, saying it is a ‘huge club’.
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Christoph Freund declined to rule out the prospect of joining Chelsea after he emerged as a candidate in their search for a sports director.
The 45-year-old is one of Chelsea’s shortlisted names for the role and held talks after impressing in the same position for Red Bull Salzburg.
Freund was at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night as the Austrian champions fought back to earn a point in their Champions League Group E encounter against Chelsea.
Christoph Freund (L) was at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday and has refused to rule out Chelsea’s future as sporting director.
And of the possibility of a move to Chelsea, Freund said: “You should never rule out anything in football and Chelsea is such a big club. But I am 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 coming weeks and months.’
Chelsea’s new owners hope to appoint a ‘world-class’ sporting director before the World Cup kicks off in November and have held talks with a number of candidates, some with Premier League experience and some who have worked at the highest levels of European football.
Freund’s work at Salzburg – helping to excavate and recruit a long roster of players before they became more established names and Salzburg made significant profits, including now Manchester City striker Erling Haaland – ensured he was considered by the Blues’ Todd Boehly-led consortium.
Todd Boehly considers Freund as a possible option to become Chelsea sporting director
Freund helped discover Erling Haaland, who is now thriving at Manchester City
Chelsea were interested in signing another find from Freund in the summer, 19-year-old Slovenian striker Benjamin Sesko, who has instead opted to remain in the Red Bull group and join Leipzig. and move to Germany next summer.
Freund confirmed to Sky Sports Austria: “I have had occasional exchanges with Chelsea. A month or two ago we spoke more often because they were interested in Sesko.
“The new owners are interested in how we do with young players, how we integrate them into the first team. But you do that again and again at other clubs, that’s it.’