Red Bull Salzburg chief Stephan Reiter has responded to claims that Chelsea are set to appoint Christoph Freund as their sporting director. Todd Boehly has been in the market for a transfer specialist to bolster the Blues' scouting network, with Paris Saint-Germain advisor Luis Campos and former Liverpool director Michael Edwards both said to have been in the running.
Freund has agreed to become the new sporting director at Stamford Bridge following extensive talks which started last month, football.london understands. The west Londoners will be hoping to wrap a deal up as soon as possible with the hope of having the 45-year-old in his new role ahead of the January transfer window.
However, it's believed that there is no an agreement with Freund's parent club RB Salzburg yet, as confirmed by Reiter to Sky Sport Austria, as quoted by the Metro. Speaking on the speculation regarding his colleague Freund, he said: "I can definitely rule that out.
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"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."
Salzburg head coach Matthias Jaissle also spoke to Sky Sport Austria on Freund's future. He insisted that he's not surprised to see the Austrian linked with a move to 'world-class teams'.
"Of course, I noticed that there were rumours, but that didn’t affect me at all," Jaissle said. "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."
Freund was seen at Stamford Bridge when Chelsea welcomed Salzburg to west London in the Champions League group stage. The transfer guru, who 'discovered Erling Haaland', is said to be part of Boehly's plan to build a bright and sustainable future at the club.
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