LONDON (AP) — First its manager, now its head of recruitment.
Two months after bringing in Graham Potter from Brighton, Chelsea has gone back to its Premier League rival to entice the person who built a strong reputation at the south-coast club for finding and developing talent.
Paul Winstanley was hired by Chelsea on Tuesday as its director of global talent and transfers, ending an eight-year stint at Brighton where he was initially a talent identification manager and then the club’s head of recruitment.
Brighton is known for its shrewdness in the transfer market, buying players cheaply and selling them for high prices. Spanish defender Marc Cucurella, for example, joined Brighton from Getafe for a reported $18 million and was sold — to Chelsea — a year later for $65 million.
Winstanley said he was looking forward to working with Potter again, adding: “There is a real sense of excitement and momentum around the new ownership and this project.”
Since fronting the purchase of Chelsea from Roman Abramovich in May, Todd Boehly has started an overhaul of the playing squad and the coaching staff, with Potter arriving in September as a replacement for Thomas Tuchel.
Boehly has overseen the changes not only in his role of club chairman and but also in an interim role as sporting director, in which he took charge of transfer dealings.
“Paul is going to be a great addition to Chelsea,” Boehly and co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali said in a Chelsea statement.
“He’s highly respected and is a key senior addition as we continue to build a world class sporting team with a huge depth of talent, ambition and commitment who will work closely with us to drive Chelsea forward.”
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