Chroph Freund, who unearthed Erling Haaland as teenager, on Chelsea’s backroom radar for sporting director

Erling Haaland has been labelled the hot pick and “Norwegian cyborg” in his debut season with Man City, and a sore miss managements at Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool, despite figuring on their radar. But it is the man who spotted him as a teenager, Salzburg sporting director Chroph Freund, who is being hotly pursued Chelsea as Stamford Bridge looks to bolster its transfer strategies, English press reported.
Express.co.uk reported that Chelsea are on the lookout for a new sporting director and have entered talks with Freund. ESPN had quoted earlier that talks with Freund were “pretty advanced.”
“Chelsea have reportedly opened talks with Red Bull Salzburg with regards to the availability of sporting director Chroph Freund, who was previously responsible for unearthing Erling Haaland after spotting him in action as a teenager for Molde. The Blues, who have endured a sub-par start to the new campaign, are said to be on the lookout for a new director to lead the club’s transfer strategy following the appointment of Graham Potter as their new manager last week,” Express.co.uk wrote.
The Blues, who have endured a sub-par start to the new campaign, are said to be on lookout for a new director. (Twitter)
The website continued that Freund’s seven year stint at Salzburg was highlighted with his knack for discovering talented players throughout his seven-year spell at Salzburg, who played out a 1-1 against Chelsea in the Champions League on Wednesday evening. “The Blues have admired Freud’s work from a dance for some time and have now entered negotiations with Salzburg over the possibility of bringing him to Stamford Bridge in advance of the upcoming January transfer window, according to ESPN expert Ben Jacobs.”
Chelsea’s owner Todd Boehly is a big fan of the Salzburg model, the website quoted ESPN. “He’s currently ahead of Monaco’s Paul Mitchell, who really wants the job, too. Luis Campos is an option, and is technically freelance, but protection clauses in his PSG contract make a move tough unless he buys out the remainder of his Parc des Princes contract.
I am told at this stage Freund is very much leading the race, which adds a little spice to Wednesday’s game. Graham Potter’s input is still key and Chelsea could also hire a technical director, too.”

Chelsea were without a sporting director since Boehly took over earlier this year, working with former Blues manager Thomas Tuchel to oversee the club’s transfer strategy during the summer months. “Marina Granovskaia was mostly responsible for buying and selling the right players under Chelsea’s previous ownership structure before leaving the club upon the departure of Roman Abramovich towards the end of last season,” express.co.uk wrote.
Freund, was credited with cultivating a potential network of clubs similar to the exing system at Salzburg, if he was picked Chelsea over the coming weeks. “Boehly has already underlined his interest in building a multi-club model during his time in west London in order to make the most of Chelsea’s esteemed youth academy aiding the development paths of their best young players,” express.co.uk ended.