Chelsea’s sporting director plans & Graham Potter’s role in modernising the club

Chelsea intend to include Graham Potter in conversations over the hiring of a new sporting director, 90min understands, as part of a long-term strategy to modernise the club.

Co-owner Todd Boehly has been operating as interim sporting director following the departure of Marina Granovskaia earlier this summer, leading Chelsea’s transfer business alongside former boss Thomas Tuchel.

But the intention has always been for Boehly to step aside from the role in favour of an experienced hire, and 90min understands that the search for a new sporting director will continue with the input of former Brighton boss Potter.

47-year-old Potter officially took over as Chelsea‘s head coach on Thursday, signing a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge, and it’s believed that the club will look to use his knowledge when making all major decisions in the future.

Sources have told 90min that Potter’s arrival aligns with the club’s intention to modernise their ways of working – a result of Boehly’s due diligence over the summer – and he’ll play a key role in shaping Chelsea’s future both on and off the field.

Potter’s impressive interview with Boehly saw the club grant permission for his backroom staff to join him in west London, and those appointments are viewed as an evolution of the club’s setup rather than a revolution.

Those joining Potter at Chelsea include recruitment analyst Kyle Macaulay, who was also part of his backroom staff at Swansea City and Ostersunds – the club where Potter made his name as a young up and coming coach.

90min further understands that Potter was hugely impressed by Chelsea’s existing infrastructure but felt it could do with some modernisation – something that Boehly, who has been impressed with Liverpool’s model, and the club’s hierarchy believe he can help facilitate in the years to come.