Jim Fraser promoted to Chelsea Head of Youth Development and Recruitment

Long-time Chelsea Academy chief Neil Bath was recently promoted to become our Director of Football Development and Operations — thus taking on some duties relating to first-team matters as well — and rather unsurprisingly, his former assistant has now been (reportedly) promoted to take up his old title.

Jim Fraser, according to an exclusive from The Chelsea Spot, has been named our Head of Youth Development and Recruitment, which had been Bath’s title for the past eleven years. Fraser has been working with Bath for a lot longer than that, even, having joined Chelsea in 2004, right at the start of the club’s Academy revolution. He’s been a key part of that journey for the past nearly two decades, and hopefully will continue for just as long.

Chelsea have not (yet?) confirmed this appointment, though there’s little reason to doubt the veracity of the report. It’s great to see the club continue to promote from within when it comes to the Academy, even as we continue to revamp the entire first-team planning and recruitment operation.