Chelsea have confirmed Paul Winstanley will be the club’s new Director of Global Talent and Transfers.
Winstanley joins the London club after eight years with Brighton & Hove Albion. He initially joined the club as a talent identification manager before becoming head of recruitment.
News of Chelsea’s move for Winstanley came to light three weeks ago. Winstanley played a crucial role at Brighton, helping the club recruit exciting talents from all over the globe.
“Chelsea are pleased to announce that Paul Winstanley has been appointed to the role of Director of Global Talent and Transfers,” a club statement read.
“Winstanley arrives at Stamford Bridge after eight years with Brighton & Hove Albion, initially as talent identification manager and then as head of recruitment.
“Winstanley played a major role as Brighton built a reputation for finding and developing talent.
“Chelsea would like to thank Brighton for enabling him to take up this new opportunity with Chelsea. He will join Chelsea immediately.”
Winstanley has followed manager Graham Potter and left-back Marc Cucurella in moving from Brighton to Chelsea.
Chelsea also took Potter’s recruitment analyst Kyle Macaulay. He worked closely with Winstanley on transfers at Brighton.
The Blues are assembling a team of experts to handle transfers and recruitment across the various club levels.
They have brought in former Manchester City and Southampton man Joe Shields. RB Leipzig’s Christopher Vivell is also close to joining.
Chelsea are also searching for a sporting director. Their first target was Michael Edwards, but he is still on a break from football.
Paris Saint-Germain and Celta Vigo sporting advisor Luis Campos was another target, but the rumours died without concrete moves.
The Blues were also close to hiring RB Salzburg’s Christophe Freund, but he opted to stay in Germany.
Chelsea would like to hire a new sporting director before January. Norwich City sporting director Stuart Webber has emerged as a shock candidate for the job.
