Chelsea's search for a sporting director is almost complete. The top candidate, Christoph Freund, has given verbal confirmation to fill the position.
Freund had just made a name for himself in the last few days. The Salzburg sporting director has even confirmed there had been communication with Chelsea.
Freund initially denied that the communication was related to an offer to the sporting director position. According to him, Chelsea only talked about the way Salzburg nurtured its young players.
However, the 90min report states that Freund has now accepted the proposal. An official statement will be issued early next week at the latest.
Get Manager's Blessing
In the report, it was stated that Chelsea was not one-sided in deciding the figure in the sporting director. There was a new manager intervened to confirm this.
Since the arrival of Graham Potter as new manager, owner Todd Boehly has made it clear that he will be of great help. One of them is providing a new sporting director.
The sporting director will later assist in the transfer of incoming and outgoing players. In the transfer market last summer, it was manager Thomas Tuchel who immediately went down to handle it.
Other Candidates
Freund is not the only candidate who could potentially fill the sporting director's seat. Another name that had appeared was Michael Edwards, who had previously been at Liverpool.
Chelsea was reportedly also eyeing Paul Mitchell. However, the 40-year-old chose to become an advisor at Manchester United at the start of the 2022 season for the next two years.
Luis Campos was also approached by Chelsea. The advisor, who is currently still at Paris Saint-Germain, is not Boehly's favorite.
Next week
Freund actually still has a contract at Salzburg. The 45-year-old man also just received a new long-term contract earlier this year.
However, Salzburg was willing to let it go. Freund and the club saw the position of Chelsea sporting director as an opportunity that could not be let go.
This finalization process will be completed at the latest early next week.