Chelsea have appointed Joe Shields as co-director of recruitment and talent, as chairman Todd Boehly looks to build a world-class management team at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have been targeting appointments in key roles since Boehly s consortium took control in May, and revealed Laurence Stewart is to become technical director at the end of his tenure with Monaco earlier this week.
Shields – who most recently worked as Southampton s head of recruitment following a nine-year spell with Manchester City s academy – will now join him in a new-look management team.
Boehly and co-owner Behdad Eghbali expressed their excitement at the prospect of working with Shields, telling Chelsea s website: Joe is another great addition to Chelsea, and we re thrilled to have him on board.
We have a clear plan and will adopt a modern and data-driven philosophy, focused on elite emerging talent.
We re assembling a deep and collaborative management team who are eager to build a continued sustained winner at Chelsea.
Joe has a great track record and understanding of the game and emerging talent.
We know we have another strong leader and a team player who will help us continue to build our world-class football organisation.
Chelsea FC have appointed Joe Shields as Co-Director of Recruitment and Talent.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)