“World-class football leader”- Todd Boehly reacts to Chelsea confirming new technical director

Todd Boehly lavishes praise on new Chelsea technical director, Laurence Stewart

In a statement released today (h/t Evening Standard), Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly hailed ‘world-class’ Laurence Stewart after the club confirmed his appointment as their new technical director.

Stewart, who was working at AS Monaco in the same role before joining Chelsea, has previously worked at English clubs Everton and Manchester City. He has also been with the FA as a performance analyst in 2014 and was part of the Red Bull franchise, working as a head of scouting at RB Leipzig.

He will join Chelsea to become a part of the recruitment think-tank at the club. The Blues already appointed recruitment analyst Kyle Macaulay from Brighton and Hove Albion on the day manager Graham Potter was arriving. They have also completed the hiring of Joe Shields from Southampton, who will work as a director of recruitment.

Talking very highly of Stewart, here’s Boehly’s statement (h/t Evening Standard):

“Laurence is an important appointment as we plan to build a deep sporting team that will collaborate closely.

“Laurence is a world-class football leader who understands talent management, data and scouting, player development and performance.”

During the summer transfer window, when Chelsea did not have a sporting director or any expert recruitment director, Todd Boehly worked as an interim director to oversee £250m+ spending in player signings.

Now, it seems as if he and his team are willing to hire the right people for this job and let the experts make recruitment decisions starting in January and beyond.

Credit must be given to Boehly and Clearlake Capital to fasten this process of club transition from hiring a manager of their choice to appointing all the right people for the right roles to form a stable structure at the club footballing-wise.

They are also aiming to hire Brighton’s head of recruitment Paul Winstanley to complete their recruitment think-tank team.

More Chelsea News:

• Transfer News: Chelsea face competition from London rivals to sign Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita
• Chelsea manager Graham Potter believes Kai Havertz can get his mojo back following Champions League heroics
• Wilfried Zaha could be available for transfer in January amid Chelsea interest

It would be another inspired addition as Winstanley has worked in England in a similar role. He was at Wigan Athletic and Derby County before. More importantly, he has worked with Potter and should know the profile of players the manager wants to sign.