Paul Winstanley resigns Brighton position ahead of expected Chelsea move — report

Paul Winstanley, who was rumored a couple weeks ago to be joining Chelsea’s revamped recruiting department, has reportedly resigned his current position at Brighton & Hove Albion, who, in turn, have placed him on gardening leave — i.e. he must now face a mandatory cooling off period before taking a new job.

The length of this period is unclear, though The Athletic assure that talks over “Winstanley’s switch to Stamford Bridge in a director of football-type job are expected to reach a successful conclusion”. The specific length of the gardening leave could be one of the things under discussion between the two teams, in terms of any compensation that may or may not be needed.

Winstanley had been the Head of Recruitment at Brighton for the past 7.5 years, following previous jobs at Derby County and Wigan Athletic. It sounds like he would be taking a similar role here, as we continue to revamp everything behind the scenes, including with recent arrivals Joe Shields (co-director of recruitment) and Laurence Stewart (technical director).