Laurence Stewart, technical director of Monaco, will be hired by Chelsea as part of plans to create a new transfer “thought tank” to handle player recruiting.
Todd Boehly and Clearlake, the club’s new co-owners, are revamping Chelsea. Stewart will be a member of the committee that chooses the transfer policy.
Official Statement
Todd Boehly praises Laurence Stewart, the new technical director at Chelsea.
After the club officially announced Laurence Stewart’s hiring as their new technical director, Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly praised the “world-class” Stewart in a statement released today (h/t Evening Standard).
Here is a quote from Boehly that praises Stewart favourably (credit: 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.”
Laurence Stewart will be joining Chelsea in a new position as technical director to focus on football globally.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 26, 2022
Chelsea’s rebuild continues
Chelsea is discussing Brighton’s head of recruitment, Paul Winstanley, as part of the new system.
The Blues have already hired Brighton’s Kyle Macaulay as Graham Potter’s recruiting analyst, and they are also hiring Southampton’s Joe Shields as director of recruitment.
The “think tank,” a part of a plan to replace having a well-known sporting director with a collaborative structure, will include Stewart, Macaulay, Shields, and Winstanley.
Before joining Chelsea, Stewart held the same position at AS Monaco. He has also had roles at English clubs Everton and Manchester City. In 2014, he also worked as a performance analyst for the FA. Before that, he was a member of the Red Bull team and the head of scouting at RB Leipzig.
Between 1991 and 2000, Winstanley played nine seasons of professional football for Manchester City before switching to analytical work at Wigan Athletic in 2003.
Before leaving in 2008, he served as The Latics’ performance analyst manager. He assisted them in winning the League Cup in 2005/06 and being promoted to the Premier League.
Winstanley then changed teams and worked as the head of analysis for Derby County for six years. He has worked at Brighton since 2014 as a talent identification manager and, more recently, as the head of recruitment.
Macauley won Chelsea over with his knowledge of contemporary scouting techniques and agency links.
Shields will join after taking some time off after leaving Southampton.
Chelsea is working on adding two more top football executives in the coming weeks as their new transfer structure is coming together as expected in time for the World Cup.
