Chelsea to raid Brighton again? Blues make offer for head of recruitment Sam Jewell amid fears of Man Utd interest - just 16 months after signing his predecessor

In a bid to strengthen their scouting department, Chelsea have made a strategic move to poach Jewell, who assumed his current role at the Amex Stadium following the departure of Paul Winstanley to the West London club in 2022. According to The Telegraph, the decision to approach Jewell comes amidst concerns at Chelsea that former Brighton technical director, Dan Ashworth, may lure him to Old Trafford as he is set to become the new sporting director of the Red Devils. The offer from Chelsea is believed to entail a global scouting role, overseeing negotiations for both Chelsea and Strasbourg in Ligue 1, also owned by the Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly consortium.

However, the report adds that Jewell is yet to finalise his decision, with the possibility of remaining at Brighton still on the table. As of now, Chelsea has not officially approached Brighton regarding Jewell's potential transfer.

Jewell has played a pivotal role in Brighton's recruitment strategy since joining the club in May 2016 as the Under-21s recruitment head. He subsequently progressed to the role of emerging talent scouting manager in 2018 before assuming the position of head of recruitment last year after Winstanley assumed the role of a sporting director at Chelsea under Boehly's leadership in November 2022.

During his tenure at Brighton, Jewell played a significant role in the signings of notable players such as Alexis Mac Allister, Moises Caicedo, Facundo Buonanotte, and Julio Enciso. Their pursuit of Jewell follows their previous recruitment initiatives from Brighton, including the appointment of Graham Potter as a manager in 2022, along with several other backroom staff members including data analyst Kyle Macauley.

Jewell had earlier worked with Winstanley at Wigan when the latter was the performance manager at DW Stadium. He has also worked previously at Newport County and Swindon Town before joining the Seagulls. Jewell's potential move to Chelsea would mark another significant development in the Blues' pursuit of recruiting top talents for the future as Boehly & Co. continue to invest heavily in future superstars.