Premier League giants Chelsea have spent an astronomical amount of money in transfers since the Todd Boehly takeover in 2022, but, have failed in their quest of challenging the elites for top honors in the league.
Considering the performances under the new management at Stamford Bridge, European football seems like a distant dream, as of now.
However, that has not deterred the Blues hierarchy from making moves off the field, as they prepare to splash the cash, again, to revamp Chelsea into title-winning contenders.
In a strategic move to strengthen the scouting arena, Chelsea are eyeing a significant acquisition, as they are ready to pay a substantial fee to lure Brighton’s talented scout, Sam Jewell.
The 34-year-old is set to part ways with the Seagulls and has been put on gardening leave.
The Blues are confident of buying him out of his contract for a “big six-figure sum” as they view Jewell as the ideal candidate to bolster their scouting network.
However, it is believed that the fee would be much less than what Manchester United will have to pay for Newcastle scouting head Dan Ashworth, reportedly £20 million.
Ashworth and Jewell both worked at Brighton, but the latter moved up the ranks at Amex Stadium when Ashworth left for the Magpies at the start of last season.
Jewells played in an integral part in signing Moises Caicedo and Alexis McAllister, both of whom have left Brighton for Chelsea and Liverpool respectively, generating the club huge profits.
He does have a keen ability of identifying emerging talents from across the globe and Chelsea want to secure his services at the earliest.
If Jewell arrives at the London based outfit, he will be the latest to join the likes of Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and Robert Sanchez, who have made the switch in previous seasons.
Former manager Graham Potter and coaches Billy Reid, Bjorn Hamberg, Bruno Saltor and Ben Roberts all moved from South Coast to the English capital, before they were sacked by the Blues.
Chelsea’s chief analyst Kyle Macauley and sporting director Paul Winstanley are also former Brighton personnel.
Jewell began his career as an opposition scout for Newport County and later became the chief scout for Swindon Town for a brief 10-month period. Brighton monitored his progress and signed him in 2016 as their Under-21 recruitment manager.
Making a significant impact during his initial phase with the Seagulls, the transfer expert became the emerging talent scout manager in 2018 and then the club’s head of recruitment.
He has stated in the past, how going above and beyond his job, the decision to learn Spanish during the COVID lockdown provided dividends in securing bright South American talents.
Speaking to the Athletic, Jewell said:
"I learnt Spanish during lockdown and it has helped me communicate with players when I've been out there and in selling the project to the players' families. Remember, no English is spoken out there, so I'd like to think that speaking Spanish has played a small part in helping the guys join us."
"The only way you're going to attract the top young talent is if they can see a route into the first team, given you're competing against some of the biggest clubs in the world. That's what happened with Alexis, Moises, Facundo and Julio - we could sell them a pathway to the first team relatively quickly."
In a dynamic football landscape, securing a skilled scout like Sam Jewell could prove invaluable for Chelsea's long-term player recruitment strategy.