Chelsea news: The Blues have already overhauled the club since Todd Boehly's arrival but more changes could be on the cards
That group are now in charge of ensuring that the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital axis has more of a forward thinking plan and model than they ended up inheriting last year. The Blues have lacked such a pathway for years now and have fallen behind on the science of recruiting and aligning the club as a whole.
The Bundesliga side have parted ways with the man behind deals for Piero Hincapie, Edmond Tapsoba, Jeremie Frimpong, Moussa Diaby and Florian Wirtz. His stance in the game is still at an all-time high though, with clubs looking for recruitment specialists capable of attracting the best young players in the world.
In the statement announcing the structure of the team it was explained: "Chelsea has confirmed its sporting department with Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley taking up their roles as co-sporting directors. They oversee the entire sporting team, comprising talent, scouting, recruitment and data. Winstanley joined in November last year and oversaw Chelsea's January transfer strategy alongside the board.
"Stewart joins the club next week from AS Monaco, where he was technical director. They will work closely with Graham Potter and his coaching team to support the men's first team. The team includes technical director, Christopher Vivell, focusing on football globally, Joe Shields, Kyle Macaulay and Jim Fraser leading on talent management and recruitment, and Matthew Hallam leading on data and analysis.
"The team's focus will be on ensuring Chelsea is competitive and sustainable on the pitch, investing in the growth of the sporting department team to identify, nurture and develop talent over the long-term with a modern data-driven philosophy."