Monaco Sporting Director Paul Mitchell has admitted that he will 'one day' make a return to the Premier League and that recent links to Chelsea and Manchester United can only be seen as positive. The former Tottenham Hotspur recruitment expert has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, in addition to the likes of Michael Edwards and Andreas Berta following the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital takeover of the club.
Boehly is currently acting as Chelsea's interim sporting director in addition to his role of chairman of the Blues and has been directly involved in this summer's transfer negotiations, being the figure to manage Romelu Lukaku's return to Inter Milan. Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech have both left the club, with the former available for the duration of the transfer window in a capacity to help any transition.
With Thomas Tuchel's squad in need of rebuilding, the role has rarely been more crucial with a successful transfer window required. Any permanent fixture in the position would have a significant role in the new, future direction of the club.
READ MORE: Thomas Tuchel's transfer advice to Neymar that Raphinha must heed if he seals £55m Chelsea move
Mitchell does not expect to depart in the immediate future but seemed sure a return to British shores would be on the cards in the future.
The 40-year-old told the Athletic: "If there is speculation with the size of organisations that you mention, it can only be seen as a positive for myself and for Monaco. It shows we are doing a good job and disturbing the market in a good way.
"You can never say never. I am from England and one day — I am still relatively a young man — I will go back to the Premier League and to friends and family back there as well.
"But I am still enjoying my work, and while agreements are still in place with the majority shareholder here and the processes of working are still in place, I suspect I am still going to be here.
"But I see it as a great reflection not only of me but the people working here that brands like that are mentioned in the same sentence as myself."
Mitchell further outlined how he sees the role of sporting director as to build a club that is high performing with the players they have, as well as through signing new players. The characteristics he looks for in the transfer market have been formed by a foundation set by Mauricio Pochettino.
He added: “Working with Mauricio (Pochettino) shaped certain non-negotiables but as my journey continued, these have been sculpted as well as moulded. I like to analyse what the future game looks like and evolve our style and recruitment to adapt to that, so we are buying for then as well as now. I like my teams to be a reflection of me; I’d like to say hard-working, a level of humility, controlled aggression and the potential to add physicality.
“In my first meeting with the fans here, they said to me, ‘We can accept losing to a degree, but only if we can be proud of the team in defeat’. That stuck with me. Our average age means we will lose some games but we want to see a desire to compete in our teams. My non-negotiables are that players control the controllable; be as professional as you can, put high performance at the centre of everything, be humble as a team, always come off the pitch having given the maximum and be prepared to push the boundaries.”
READ NEXT:
Levi Colwill, Ben Chilwell - Chelsea's first 14 confirmed stars in pre-season training at Cobham
Barcelona president drops huge Raphinha, Ousmane Dembele and Jules Kounde Chelsea transfer clues
Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: Double swoop eyed, Cristiano Ronaldo verdict, Sterling U-turn
Frenkie de Jong transfer had Tuchel 'in tears' but may fix major Chelsea issue as Raphinha waits
Sell Timo Werner, keep Levi Colwill - How Chelsea's squad should look after the transfer window
