Chelsea close in on new head of recruitment as Brighton place Paul Winstanley on gardening leave

CHELSEA appear to be closing in on another raid on Brighton – this time for head of recruitment Paul Winstanley.

The Blues appointed Seagulls boss Graham Potter earlier this season after deciding to sack Thomas Tuchel.

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Graham Potter could be about to be joined by his old Brighton mate Paul Winstanley[/caption]

And now, according to The Athletic, Todd Boehly and co are poised for another South Coast snare.

It is reported that Winstanley has been “placed on gardening leave” as talks progress with Chelsea.

The 43-year-old is believed to have formally resigned from his role at the Seagulls.

And he is expected to follow Potter to Stamford Bridge.

As well as their manager and now seemingly head of recruitment, Brighton also lost their technical director when Dan Ashworth left for Newcastle.

Potter, meanwhile, is going through somewhat of a blip for the first time since he took over at Chelsea.

The won five of his first six games in his new job – but hasn’t triumphed in the Premier League since beating Aston Villa 2-0 on October 16.

The latest Prem defeat was a 1-0 loss to top-of-the-table Arsenal.

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Potter is now whisking his Chelsea squad away for a warm weather boot camp just up the road from the World Cup.

Those players not involved in the tournament are heading to Abu Dhabi for a ten day training trip so that new boss Potter can iron out tactical problems and get to know some of his players better.

The plan is to leave early next month for around ten days and be back in England to coincide with the end of the World Cup on December 18.

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Todd Boehly could be set to complete ANOTHER raid on Brighton[/caption]