Reports have claimed that Chelsea are set to finalise the appointment of Christoph Freund as the club’s new sporting director after Graham Potter gave his seal of approval.

Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly is believed to impressed with the job Freund has done at Salzburg, and is keen on bringing the 45-year-old to Stamford Bridge.

Meanwhile, Salzburg managing director Stephan Reiter is confident Freund will not leave the club, and has ruled out a move to Chelsea for his sporting director who has a contract until 2026.

“I can definitely rule that out, neither Chelsea nor Christoph Freund spoke to me or the club management about something like that,” Reiter told Sky Sport Austria.

“Christoph recently signed a contract with us until 2026, which applies to him as well as to players, managers or coaches.”