Chelsea plan fresh talks with Bundesliga chief

Chelsea are prepared to hold a fresh round of negotiations with Tim Steidten over the sporting director vacancy.

The 43-year-old was promoted as Bayer Leverkusen's sporting director this summer, but he could still leave the Bundesliga outfit.

Blues owner Todd Boehly is determined to pursue a sporting director as soon as possible in order to plan for the January transfer window.

After failed approaches for Michael Edwards, Christoph Freund and Luis Campos, Steidten has emerged as the prime candidate.

Boehly has now made personal contact with Steidten to discuss terms. If successful, the Blues could open talks with Leverkusen.

The German side are known to be shrewd negotiators, and the Blues may need to pay a significant compensation package for Steidten.

Chelsea have made a disappointing start to their campaign. They are currently seventh in the league with only 10 points on the board.

In the Champions League, they have attained one point from two outings. Graham Potter recently replaced Thomas Tuchel as the new boss.