Christopher Vivell will replace Todd Boehly as Chelsea’s technical director, according to football.london, effectively putting an end to his quest after leaving RB Leipzig.
The 35-year-old will fill the position left empty by Marino Granovskaia and Petr Cech’s departures, and it is anticipated that his appointment will be the last one made after the American’s £4 billion takeover at Stamford Bridge.
The fact that Vivell left Leipzig on Friday suggests that a relocation to West London is likely.
With Boehly taking up the position personally for the summer transfer window, the protracted search for a new sporting director comes to a conclusion.
Before deciding on the German, the American had targeted Christoph Freund, CEO of Red Bull Salzburg, and Michael Edwards, a former director of Liverpool.
As seen by prior interviews, Boehly’s decision to fire Thomas Tuchel and replace him with Graham Potter following a Europa League loss to Dinamo Zagreb was not one that Vivell would have made lightly.
He stressed the value of not making the decision to change managers on the “Kicker meets DAZN” podcast in German.
He said: “A club working with a coach for a long time is always the finest thing.” Added he. “Teams at the top of the Bundesliga, like Union Berlin, demonstrate that.
“We want that once more.” Before resigning from the position, he explained this in terms of Marco Rose, a former head coach of Borussia Dortmund, taking over at Leipzig this season. However, his explanation makes it clear to Boehly and other Chelsea decision-makers where he believes long-term success at Chelsea can be achieved.