Chelsea close to appointing new sporting director

Chelsea are close to appointing RB Salzburg's Christoph Freund as their new sporting director, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Freund has been Salzburg's sporting director since the summer of 2015, but he recently said that he can't rule out a move to the Blues.

The west London giants have since made progress towards signing him, and Romano claims that talks are underway with Salzburg.

Blues owner Todd Boehly is prepared to pay the compensation package as he wants Freund to join the club as soon as possible.

The Blues had a superb summer transfer window, spending over £270m on multiple signings. They plan to spend more money.

Boehly has allotted another £260m for the next two transfer windows and wants Freund to make smart signings from across the world.

Freund brought Erling Haaland, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita to Salzburg, and has made a big name for himself as a sporting director.

He is likely to be paid an annual salary of around £7m if he joins Chelsea.