Todd Boehly has stepped down as temporary sporting director at Chelsea following a difficult first half-year at the club, with his new recruitment team taking shape, according to reports.

The American tycoon, 49, stepped into the role on an interim basis following the departure of ex-Blues transfer chief Marina Granovskaia.

Highly-regarded thanks to her work under Roman Abramovich for more than a decade, she left west London shortly after the Russian oligarch.

After managing the team for 19 years, Abramovich was compelled to sell it due to the invasion of Ukraine by his country, which caused his connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to light. Boehly, who led a consortium’s £4.25 billion acquisition, assumed Granovskaia’s role but had a difficult start to English football.

Chelsea has spent more than £350 million on transfers, but the returns have been decreasing. This season, they also made the brutal decision to fire popular manager Thomas Tuchel after just seven games.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the 49-year-old has renounced his position as interim sporting director in a novel development. Boehly and his partner co-owner Behdad Eghbali have delegated control to the Blues’ director of global talent and transfers, Paul Winstanley, and the club’s new technical director, Christopher Vivell, even though Boehly will still have the final say on transfers.

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Vivell and Winstanley were pictured either side of new signing Benoit Badiashile last week, after the French defender arrived from Monaco in a £35m deal.

The pair will soon officially be joined by Joe Shields, recently appointed as co-director of recruitment and talent, and Laurence Stewart, who’s been given the title of technical director. The report adds that Boehly is fully behind manager Graham Potter following a difficult first four months in charge.

Chelsea’s recruitment drive for the January transfer window is already in motion, with Badiashile being joined by Ivorian wonderkid David Datro Fofana and RB Leipzig star Christopher Nkunku expected to arrive at Stamford Bridge this summer.

The Blues have also reached an agreement to sign Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid, paying €11million (£9.68m) for his services over six months.

However, it doesn’t appear that Chelsea will be getting their hands on top target Enzo Fernandez this month, with Benfica holding firm. Manager Roger Schmidt declared on Monday that talks over the 21-year-old midfielder’s potential departure are “closed”.

“The issue with Enzo is closed, there is no issue anymore,” the Benfica boss said of Fernandez, who recently won the World Cup with Argentina and was crowned Young Player of the Tournament. “He’s our player, he’s in a very good condition, he’s training well, he’s happy, so he’s part of the squad and a key player. I think I’ve already said everything about him.”

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As the new ownership of Chelsea FC continues to restructure the team, the club has announced the appointment of a new technical director.

Chelsea Football Club is pleased to announce the appointment of Christopher Vivell. He joins immediately as the new technical director of Chelsea FC.

Vivell joins Chelsea from RB Leipzig in his native Germany, where he was in charge of recruitment and scouting across all age levels. During his time at Red Bull, he also oversaw the overarching strategy for squad building and recruitment within the Red Bull football group.

Vivell previously spent five years with Leipzig’s sister club RB Salzburg in Austria as head of scouting and recruitment and prior to that was the first-team scout at Hoffenheim.

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Following his appointment, Vivell said: ‘Chelsea are building the most exciting project in global football and I’m extremely proud to be joining the club.

There is so much potential for the club to continue to succeed, develop and grow. Under the new ownership, Graham Potter and the broader sporting team, there is a clear and sustainable philosophy underpinned by performance analysis, data and innovation, and I am looking forward to playing a part in that.’

Todd Boehly, Chelsea chairman, and Behdad Eghbali, co-controlling owner, said: ‘We are delighted that Christopher is taking up this important leadership role at the club. His work in Germany and Austria speaks for itself. We are confident he will continue on his impressive trajectory here at Chelsea. He will provide important support to Graham and the ownership group and play a vital part in advancing our overall vision for the club.’

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