Brighton head of recruitment Sam Jewell has agreed to join Chelsea and gone on gardening leave at their Premier League rivals.
Former Albion head of scouting Jewell joined the Seagulls in 2016 and will be reunited with his predecessor, Paul Winstanley, who joined Chelsea as director of global talent and transfers in November 2022.
“We thank him for his long service to our club,” a Brighton statement said on Wednesday, adding that assistant technical director Mike Cave and scouting and intelligence manager George Holmes would “assume Sam’s responsibilities”.
Jewell will start a “global role” in November across the multi-club model adopted by Chelsea’s owners, according to The Athletic.
Read our other football news stories here:
Everton 1-1 Crystal Palace: Glasner in stands for tense draw
Crystal Palace appoint Glasner as Hodgson replacement
De Laurentiis confirms Mazzarri out, Calzona in at Napoli
Earlier reports of Chelsea’s interest in Jewell linked the move to Manchester United’s approach for Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth.
Chelsea had “fears” that Jewell would move to Old Trafford with former Brighton technical director Ashworth, The Telegraph reported.
Newcastle have since confirmed that Ashworth has been placed on gardening leave following an approach from United.
Sam Jewell signings
Brighton’s signings under 34-year-old Jewell included top scorer Joao Pedro from Watford for a club-record £30 million in May 2023 and highly-rated Argentinian defender Valentin Barco from Boca Juniors for a reported fee of £7.8m in January.
The club’s most high-profile permanent signings alongside Joao Pedro this season have included Netherlands goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen for £16.3m from Anderlecht, midfielder Carlos Baleba for £23m from Lille and defender Igor Julio, a £14.6m arrival from Fiorentina.
Winstanley moved to Chelsea alongside manager Graham Potter in one of numerous signings the six-time top-flight champions have made from Brighton on and off the pitch.
Potter was sacked seven months later, with all but one of his backroom team leaving since then.
Chelsea have also paid Brighton £62m for Marc Cucurella – a world record for a full-back – and £115m for Moises Caicedo, the British transfer record.
Jewell’s father, Paul, managed clubs including Ipswich Town, Derby County and Wigan Athletic.
