Sources: Chelsea agree deal to hire Man City talent spotter Stewart Thompson
Chelsea have agreed a deal to hire Man City talent spotter Stewart Thompson, sources have told Football Insider.
City’s head of UK academy scouting is heading to the London giants as they continue the huge overhaul of their entire transfer set-up.
Thompson, 58, has agreed terms with Chelsea and will complete a period of gardening leave before joining them.
It is believed that Chelsea’s co-director of recruitment and talent Joe Shields has recommended the move for Thompson, having previously worked with him at City.
Chelsea’s Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital owners have been working hard to build a new recruitment team since their takeover last year.
Christopher Vivell joined in December as the club’s new technical director with recent recruitment hires Paul Winstanley, Kyle Macaulay and Shields, as well as various scouts, feeding into him.
The capture of Thompson is the latest planned appointment by Boehly and Clearlake as they look to build the strongest possible recruitment team, rather than hiring one or two individuals to take on the bulk of the responsibilities.
City’s national youth scout manager is heading to the north-east giants to be head of UK scouting at Under-13-18 age groups and he will be working under head of youth recruitment Paul Midgley.
In other news, Kieran Maguire shreds Chelsea deal after £20m-a-year agreement – ‘common sense thrown aside’