Chelsea to hire Liverpool official called ‘fundamental’ to club’s recent success in key recruitment role

Chelsea are in line to hire Liverpool’s former recruitment specialist Dave Fallows in a role which would see him become the newest member of the Blues’ leadership team.

The Englishman left Anfield after 12 years in October 2024, having used his expertise to help them win multiple trophies, including their first Premier League title in 2020 under Jurgen Klopp and the 2019 Champions League.

Overseen by co-owner Behdad Eghbali, Chelsea’s core of leaders includes sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart as well as recruitment specialists Joe Shields and Sam Jewell.

Many of this group were in the Nottingham Forest directors’ box on Saturday to watch their 3-0 win, with Winstanley sat next to Enzo Maresca, the Blues boss who was serving his one-match touchline ban in the posh seats. Ange Postecoglou was sacked afterwards as Forest owner Evangalos Marinakis exited the box early, midway through the second half.

Fallows would be expected to assist with scouting and development, along with other areas, and the respected recruiter would likely become another familiar face in the travelling Chelsea contingent at fixtures.

As well as Liverpool, who described his work as ‘fundamental’ when he left, he previously held roles at Manchester City, Newcastle and Bolton.

Chelsea have shown themselves to be among the busiest traders in football, regularly using windows to reshape their squad. They finished in the Premier League’s top four last season, but then used the summer to completely revamp their attack, which is not usually the norm.