The summer window closed at the start of this month and Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly is working to appoint a new director of football ahead of future markets.
Boehly has reportedly identified Red Bull Salzburg chief Christoph Freund as one of the targets for the Blues.
After his side’s 1-1 draw against the west London club in the Champions League tie last week, Freund admitted there isn’t anything in claims linking him to become the new sporting director at Chelsea.
That has not stopped the rumours of Chelsea wanting the 45-year-old and it has seen the Austrian champions’ officials quizzed about the possibility of seeing the director leave for the English club.
Sky Sport Austria interviewed Red Bull Salzburg managing director Stephan Reiter about losing Freund to the Premier League side. He insisted he’s ‘very relaxed’ about the situation.
“I can definitely rule that out, neither Chelsea nor Christoph Freund spoke to me or the club management about something like that. Christoph recently signed a contract with us until 2026, which applies to him as well as to players, managers or coaches,” Reiter said, quoted by LAOLA1.
Red Bull Salzburg coach Matthias Jaissle is not surprised about the recent reports linking Freund to Chelsea.
“Of course, I noticed that there were rumours, but that didn’t affect me at all. He did an outstanding job together with Reiter and took this path here – they’re doing great. It’s logical that absolute world-class teams are interested, but I can’t say what the truth is,” Jaissle said.
