Manchester United have dealt Chelsea a major blow to Thomas Tuchel's summer transfer plans, with Ralf Rangnick and Erik ten Hag pushing to secure the services of AS Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell, according to Sky Sports.
Two of the three bidders who are interested in taking the reins from Roman Abramovich have made it their priority to sign a technical director should their bid prove successful, according to The Athletic. The position at Stamford Bridge has been vacant since late 2017 after Michael Emenalo left and, ultimately, the Blues have suffered in his absence.
Todd Boehly’s consortium; the one led by Stephen Pagliuca; and a group headed by Sir Martin Broughton remain in the running to buy Chelsea from the Russian billionaire. Two of the consortia - who are unnamed in the report - want to reshape the west London side's transfer model, with Mitchell at the top of their list.
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The 40-year-old transfer guru worked alongside Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham and helped him bring in the likes of Son Heung-min and Dele Alli. The Athletic outline that Mitchell, who has two years left on deal with the French side, faces an uncertain future in Ligue 1 amid rising tensions in the boardrooom. But while Chelsea may have finally found their next sporting director, Mitchell has reportedly been strongly recommended by both the current and future United bosses.
Monaco's sporting director is close friends with Rangnick, handing the Red Devils an advantage in the race for Mitchell's signature. Speaking to Monaco-Matin, former Wigan Athletic player Mitchell said:" I’m proud to come from there (Manchester). I will admit that every time I return, Ralf asks me to come for a coffee. We’re friends, close ones. We worked a lot together. We had success at Leipzig and travelled around the world."
Mitchell's potential move to United could have a major knock-on effect on Chelsea's upcoming transfer window. The Times claim that the Chelsea boss is keen to add two new defenders this summer following the departure of Antonio Rudiger.
Andreas Christensen also sees his contract with the Blues expire at the end of the season and, as it stands, is set to leave on a free. With two of Tuchel's leading figures set to go, the west Londoners are left with diminishing options at the back.
