By OkayGoal
Chelsea sporting director Laurence Stewart is set to leave the club, according to reports that came out today.
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It’s has not been a quiet international week in football as a whole, with the Manchester City story, Leo Messi’s international retirement and Cristiano Ronaldo’s petulance dominating the headlines, along with some good Nations League matches.
But it had been pretty quiet at Chelsea – until today. The news has just come out that co-sporting director Laurence Stewart is set to leave the club after four years.
Stewart leaves – others remain as Chelsea make behind the scenes move
It’s not clear what to make of the move. Liam Twomey’s piece for the Athletic points out that
“Stewart is well regarded within football and was liked by staff at Cobham, but he and co-sporting director Paul Winstanley have consistently been the lightning rods for supporter criticism of BlueCo’s recruitment strategy.
It seemed like there were too many sporting directors to begin with, so losing one doesn’t hurt. His role will be “absorbed” by Joe shields, Sam Jewell and Winstanley. Dave Fallows’ influence will also presumably increase.
Twomey points out that Xabi Alonso’s influence on transfer dealings is greater than that of previous managers, further diminishing the need for so many other people working in that area.
Stewart and Winstanley have been at the top of the pile since early 2023, and many fans aren’t happy with the job they’ve done. Chelsea have qualified for the Champions League just once since they were appointed.
In other news…
Two Blues are being nominated for the Golden Boy award, one can guess one, the other may surprise you.
Chelsea should get a lot of players back for this weekend’s Bournemouth game, and midfielder Romeo Lavia should be fit to start the game.