After Chelsea’s proposal to lure Red Bull Salzburg sporting director Christoph Freund away from the Austrian champions came to an impasse, journalist Fabrizio Romano relayed comments from the man himself on the ultimately failed move.
What’s the word?
Taking to Twitter, the Italian communicated the 45-year-old’s thoughts on the situation, in which he addressed his links and consequential talks with the Premier League club.
Romano relayed quotes on the matter from Freund, who said: “Yes, it’s true that Chelsea wanted me — and we had talks, I was thinking about Chelsea director job as I’ve been proud of the interest of such a top club”.
The transfer guru went on to convey Stephan Reiter’s comments on the matter, as the Salzburg CEO stated: “Freund informed me about Chelsea but at the end he will stay here at Red Bull Salzburg”.
Big blow for Boehly and co.
Romano’s latest update represents a bitter blow for Todd Boehly and co at Chelsea.
Freund is the man responsible for some miraculous and profitable findings for Salzburg, having brought in the likes of Karim Adeyemi, Brenden Aaronson and Dominik Szoboszlai, who made the club a combined £77m in subsequent sales, whilst helping them to remain dominant in the Austrian Bundesliga.
Perhaps the biggest feather in Freund’s scouting cap is 22-year-old Norwegian goal machine Erling Haaland, who is looking like a future record breaker in the Premier League, having already netted an impressive 11 goals in just seven games in the division.
That might explain why the Red Bull group were opposed to letting such a talented director leave Salzburg.
Chelsea were in need of some experience in their sporting director role, and the appointment of Freund would have been music to the ears of manager Graham Potter, who has a track record of developing high-potential talent, based on the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo at Brighton.
However, it is not be for the Blues on this occasion, and the club must now look elsewhere with the likely intention of filling the position before the winter transfer window.
