Chelsea ‘Head of International Scouts’ Scott McLachlan has left the club — report

The changing of the guard at Chelsea under the new ownership continues, and the latest department to feel the winds of change is the scouting department. Ahead of the expected appointment of a full-time sporting director in the near future, who will presumably conduct a long overdue review and reorg of the operation, the current head of scouting, Scott McLachlan has already left the club.

According to The Athletic, McLachlan’s last day at Chelsea after 11 years as the Head of International Scouts was Friday, the day after Deadline Day. He’s now on gardening leave for three months before “taking up an executive-level role elsewhere in football”. His departure “is thought to be” amicable and respectful, with both sides evidently ready for a change of scenery. (Here’s hoping the fan reaction will be respectful as well, commensurate with McLachlan’s long service to the club, and the understanding that player recruitment is an imprecise business with shared responsibilities, innumerable and often unforeseeable factors, and multiple decision-makers.)

McLachlan’s departure means that none of the people who used to make decisions about first-team football matters under the old regime remain, with Marina Granovskaia and Petr Čech having already left earlier this summer. Their departure put a lot on the shoulders of Todd Boehly and Thomas Tuchel, with the head coach especially happy to be able to shed that burden now and concentrate fully on the football once more.

“I’m not involved in [the sporting director search], I have to say. I am so, so happy. I had the feeling for one-and-a-half days, I shifted back to 100% being a coach, which I enjoy a lot and where my full energy will go from now on. We need that energy going into the team. It’s a very complex situation with sporting directors and which role they have. They are very different in different countries and clubs.

“It’s no secret that I loved to work with Petr [Čech]. The communication and having this kind of legend at Cobham, who took care of not only our building but the academy and the culture of the club, was a pure pleasure for me. It’s a big change not to have him, and we’re still adapting. I am not actively involved in the search or building of a new structure. I’m not so sure it is my job.”

-Thomas Tuchel; source: Football.London

Here’s hoping we get the new people (and the right people) in as soon as possible, and have them get to work in developing and putting in motion a smart long-range plan for the club.