Todd Boehly steps down as Chelsea's interim sporting director
Chelsea co-controlling owner Todd Boehly has stepped down as the club's interim sporting director. Christopher Vivell and Paul Winstanley have been handed the responsibility of overseeing transfer activity.
Boehly became interim director after former recruitment staff Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech left in the summer. The American businessman has started putting together a new team of staff.
He moved to appoint Vivell as technical director and Winstanley as director of global talent and transfers. Boehly has now relinquished his role as interim sporting director and is now only Chelsea's chairman, per the Telegraph.
Vivell and Winstanley will lead the Blues' transfer strategy now. They were pictured with new signing Benoit Badiashile and were key in his capture. The duo will be joined by Joe Shields, the co-director of recruitment and talent, and Laurence Stewart, who has been appointed as technical director to oversee football globally. The pair will start next month.
Welcome to Chelsea, Benoit Badiashile! 👊
#BonjourBenoit 🇫🇷 https://t.co/4Hn38DZEnL
Chelsea are looking to sign a back-up right-back to Reece James, a new midfielder and a wide forward. They're reportedly close to sealing a loan deal for Atletico Madrid attacker Joao Felix.
Vivell and Winstanley will be tasked with luring some of the best young talents in the world to Stamford Bridge, alongside strengthening Graham Potter's side.
Chelsea's summer transfer window was a failure
Chelsea became the highest Premier League spending side in a single transfer window last summer. They spent an astounding £278 million, beating the record they set three years ago.
However, to say that their business was a letdown would be an understatement. Potter's side are in a fix, and their signings have been disappointing. Experienced arrivals such as Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are yet to make a real impact.
The £78 million signing of Wesley Fofana has been littered with injury woes. Marc Cucurella arrived for £63 million but looks a stark contrast to the impressive left-back, who was named Brighton & Hove Albion's Player of the Year for 2022.
There's an argument to be made that the Blues were also buying for the future in the form of Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei and Gabriel Solina. However, only Chukwuemeka has been able to break into the senior team.
Chelsea sit nine places behind their London rivals despite splashing more than double the cash on new signings so far this season 😬 https://t.co/O4QLVDuXqI
Injuries plague the senior team, and the fact that Potter resorts to academy players sums up the side's disappointing summer transfer window. One standout player has been Denis Zakaria, but ironically he's a loanee.
The Blues are tenth in the Premier League and are out of both domestic cup competitions. They next face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Thursday (January 12) in the league.