Chelsea sporting director Laurence Stewart to leave club

Laurence Stewart, Chelsea’s co-sporting director, is leaving the club by mutual consent as part of what insiders describe as a natural evolution of the football leadership team.

Stewart agreed to join Chelsea in 2022 initially as a technical director and was made co-sporting director alongside Paul Winstanley, who will now work on a day-to-day basis with Sam Jewell and Joe Shields.

Dave Fallows remains part of Chelsea’s football leadership team, but he does not have a set portfolio and works in more of an advisory and consultancy role.

Chelsea’s day-to-day football leadership team will now consist of Winstanley, Jewell and Shields, who work closely with manager Xabi Alonso and the club’s data and analytics department, which has been significantly invested in. The trio report to co-owners Behdad Eghbali and José E Feliciano, and there are no plans to appoint a like-for-like replacement for Stewart.

Sources insist there has been no falling out between the sporting directors and that Stewart’s exit is the result of a mutual decision by him and the club. It is regarded as a natural evolution that Chelsea and Stewart have been moving towards, and goodwill, gratitude and respect remains on both sides.

Eghbali spoke in April about a recognition of needing to “tweak a model” and that has been reflected in giving Alonso the title of manager, rather than head coach, signing Premier League-ready players and the departure of Stewart, together with the decision not to directly replace him.

The streamlining of the football leadership team is also a reflection on the increased status of Jewell and Shields, whose primary responsibilities focus on recruitment, player identification and squad building. Jewell also works globally across Chelsea’s multi-club model with Strasbourg, while Shields oversees academy and player pathways.

Jewell and Shields will continue to work closely with Winstanley, who is chiefly responsible for the delivery of transfer targets through talking to and negotiating with clubs and agents. He is also heavily involved in player sales, the renewal of contracts and the medical department.

As first revealed by Telegraph Sport, Tottenham Hotspur last season made checks on the possibility of appointing Winstanley, but he had no interest in leaving Chelsea and the club were adamant in their desire for him to stay.

While it is said to have been in the pipeline since before former co-owner Todd Boehly sold his stake in the club and is in no way connected, Stewart’s departure will be the first big change within Chelsea’s football structure since Clearlake Capital took full control.

Along with Winstanley, Jewell and Shields, Stewart was rewarded with a new contract to 2031 after Chelsea won the Club World Cup in 2025. But Stewart is leaving five years before that deal is due to expire.

Stewart is not thought to be moving straight into another job and will be welcome to attend matches at Stamford Bridge until he takes up a role elsewhere or decides otherwise.

Having joined from Monaco almost four years ago, Stewart’s primary role with Chelsea’s football leadership team had centred on budget planning, style of play and football philosophy, and working closely with the data team. He is popular and well respected inside the club and is also highly thought of outside Stamford Bridge.

The three-man day-to-day team of Winstanley, Jewell and Shields will now work closer with Chelsea’s data team, with the rest of Stewart’s work being absorbed within the existing structure.

Ahead of working as a technical director at Monaco, Stewart was the global head of scouting at Red Bull Soccer International. Before that, he was the head of performance analysis at Manchester City, senior recruitment co-ordinator at Everton, and was a performance analyst with the England national team at the 2014 World Cup.

Stewart and Winstanley first got to know each other roughly 20 years ago, working in match analysis for Hull City and Wigan Athletic respectively. Chelsea, where they shared an office at the club’s Cobham training ground, were the first club at which they had worked together.