Chelsea ‘in talks’ with RB Salzburg’s Christoph Freund as sporting director

Chelsea are reportedly in talks with RB Salzburg’s Christoph Freund over the vacant sporting director role at the club.

Owner Todd Boehly is keen to appoint a new name into that role, which was part of the structure sold to new manager Graham Potter on taking the job at Stamford Bridge. 

The Blues, who meet Salzburg in Champions League action on Wednesday, have earmarked Freund, the mastermind behind the Austrian’s club’s success and the man who was able to was able to bring Erling Haaland to Salzburg ahead of a number of top European clubs, for the key position.

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 put in place in the Red Bull model. 

Speaking at the SALT Conference in New York, Boehly talked about the branded model and spoke about moving away from the West Londoner’s extensive use of loanees. 

‘We’ve talked about having a multi-club model,’ Boehly said. 

‘I think there’s different countries where there’s advantages to having a club. Red Bull have Salzburg and Leipzig in the Champions League. 

Freund was the man who spotted Erling Haaland and brought the Norwegian to Salzburg 

Blues owner Todd Boehly is keen to adapt the same multi-club network for the Chelsea brand 

‘I want to continue building out the footprint. I think there’s different countries where there’s advantages to having a club.

 ‘We know people and human capital. We understand game plans and strategies. We’re not expecting to be the football experts to find the best talent, we are going to put those people in place.

‘The challenge that 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.

 ‘Our goal is to make sure we can show pathways for our young superstars to get onto the Chelsea pitch while getting them real game time. The way to do that is through another club in a really competitive league in Europe.’

As well as Freund, Chelsea have shortlisted ex-Liverpool director Michael Edwards and PGS consultant  Luis Campos as possible alternatives for the sporting director role. 

The sporting director role was part of the plan that included new manager Graham Potter