Chelsea are set to appoint FC Salzburg’s Christoph Freund as the club’s new sporting director after a verbal agreement was reached, according to reports.
Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have made some big decisions since taking over Chelsea in May, including seeing the likes of Bruce Buck, Marina Granovskaia, Petr Cech and Thomas Tuchel all leave.
Graham Potter has been appointed at the club’s head coach on a long-term deal and he will soon be followed by a sporting director, a role he has played a part in deciding who will be appointed.
Following many options on the table for the owners, as per reports, the owners have decided on Freund of Salzburg.
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As reported by Nick Purewal, a verbal agreement has been reached after talks and his arrival at Stamford Bridge is imminent.
Freund was given the seal of approval by Potter, who he will now work with once his appointment has been confirmed.
A technical director, as reported by Nick Purewal, could also be appointed to work alongside Freund in west London.
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Fabrizio Romano adds that paperwork is now set to be signed for Freund to be confirmed in the coming days.
Chelsea look to be on schedule for the appointment after they set a date before the World Cup of when they hoped to have filled the vacancy.
They played Salzburg in the Champions League last week at Stamford Bridge, a game Freund attended, but he refused to comment on speculation over his future in Austria.
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At the time, he said: "I've had exchanges with Chelsea from time to time.
"We spoke more often a month or two ago because they were interested in (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.
"Chelsea is a huge club in transition. I can't say exactly what will happen in the next few weeks and months.
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"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."
Matthew Debono