Two possibilities for Chelsea sporting director after Freund rejects role

Karan Tejwani

21 Sep 2022 02:20 CDT
3 min read

Chelsea have continued their search for a new sporting director following Christoph Freund’s rejection of the role this week, with a view to appointing a new person for the role soon.

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Co-owner Todd Boehly took charge of Chelsea’s transfer activity over the summer but wants someone experienced for the role to handle future transfer windows.

The Blues spent big in the summer, buying nine players over the window and spending the most out of any team in any transfer window in history.

Now, they have lined up new targets after Freund and Red Bull Salzburg confirmed the Austrian will be staying in his role and honouring the rest of his four-year deal.

Chelsea looking at Steidten and Orta

Chelsea have now lined up two targets: Leeds United’s Victor Orta and Bayer Leverkusen’s Tim Steidten, both of whom have experience with recruitment and data, according to The Telegraph.

Chelsea worked with both directors over the summer over transfer deals: they loaned out Callum Hudson-Odoi to Bayer Leverkusen and were unsuccessful in dealing with Leeds United over Raphinha.

Steidten has been with Leverkusen since 2019 and took over in his role earlier this year, having been the Head of Scouting previously, working on a youthful approach to sign players.

Orta, meanwhile, has overseen the club’s Premier League promotion, having worked with managers Marcelo Bielsa and Jesse Marsch to bring in the right players.

I understand that, without our agreement, certain journalists have put out press releases that Christoph Freund will join Chelsea imminently. This is wrong and he has not signed a contract with Chelsea for 2022/23. He will be at Red Bull Salzburg ♥️
— FC Red Bull Salzburg EN (@FCRBS_en) September 20, 2022

In terms of Freund, he spoke about a potential move to Chelsea, which he turned down: “Chelsea was interested in me. When a big club asks, it is a circumstance that entails personal considerations.

“But I've come to the conclusion that I'm in the best of hands with RB Salzburg and that a change is out of the question for me,” Freund concluded.

In a statement, Salzburg chief executive Stephan Reiter added: “Christoph Freund has been doing excellent work for us for many years and only recently extended his contract until 2026.

“I can hereby confirm that he will remain sporting director of FC Red Bull Salzburg,” Reiter concluded, confirming Freund was to be in Austria for the long run.

Read more about: Premier League, Chelsea