Chelsea in talks to hire David Fallows as senior sporting director

Chelsea is moving to bolster its football leadership by entering advanced talks to hire former Liverpool recruitment director David Fallows, a 45-year-old executive credited with helping build Liverpool's successful recruitment model over a 12-year spell that ended in October 2024. The prospective appointment would place Fallows in a senior sporting leadership role at Stamford Bridge with responsibilities expected to include scouting, player development, youth pathways and broader football operations.

If completed, Fallows would join the club's existing sporting leadership team, working alongside co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart and recruitment co-directors Joe Shields and Sam Jewell. Club officials said he would also have input on coach and staff recruitment, the management of loan pathways and the integration of academy players into the first team. The move would add an experienced recruiter to a group already active in reshaping Chelsea's squad and development structures.

Fallows joined Liverpool in 2012 and was part of the analytical and scouting framework credited with identifying a number of key signings that underpinned the club's successes in...