Chelsea co-sporting director Laurence Stewart set to leave: What is his legacy at the club?

Laurence Stewart, Chelsea’s co-sporting director, is set to leave the club.

Stewart joined Chelsea following the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital-led takeover in May 2022. He was initially appointed as technical director, a position he had held at former club Monaco, before moving into the role of co-sporting director alongside Paul Winstanley in February 2023.

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, Stewart’s departure has been agreed, leaving Chelsea’s sporting leadership team consisting of Winstanley, co-director of recruitment Joe Shields and director of global recruitment Sam Jewell.

Alongside Winstanley, Shields and Jewell, Stewart had signed a new contract with the club through to 2031 in August 2025.

Under Stewart and Winstanley, there has been a significant outlay on transfers at Chelsea, with more than £1billion spent on new players since the 2022 takeover.

The appointment of Xabi Alonso this summer, meanwhile, marked the sixth different permanent manager of ownership group BlueCo’s tenure.

Winstanley and Stewart also led the process to replace Emma Hayes as Chelsea women head coach in 2024 alongside former head of women’s football Paul Green, with Sonia Bompastor recruited from Lyon.

Stewart’s departure comes during a period of change behind the scenes at Chelsea, following confirmation in September Clearlake Capital had taken full control of the club after completing the purchase of minority stakes from Boehly and Mark Walter.

What is Stewart’s Chelsea legacy?

Stewart’s tenure at Chelsea has been emblematic of the shifting sporting leadership operation at the club under BlueCo’s ownership.

Originally hired from Monaco in October 2022 as “technical director to focus on football globally”, his job title changed in February 2023 to co-sporting director in the shake-up which precipitated Christopher Vivell’s departure after just seven months.

Stewart is well regarded within football and was liked by staff at Cobham, but he and co-sporting director Winstanley have consistently been the lightning rods for supporter criticism of BlueCo’s recruitment strategy.

As the man primarily in charge of transfer and contract negotiations, Winstanley was more prominent in Chelsea’s activity during transfer windows. Last year club sources clarified that Stewart focused more on working with the data and analytics team regarding signings.

The fact that Chelsea have no plans to hire a replacement indicates that Clearlake Capital feel some streamlining of the sporting leadership is needed, particularly with Xabi Alonso having a greater voice as manager rather than head coach.

Chelsea fans will not mourn Stewart’s departure, and many will be hoping that the quality of decision-making at Stamford Bridge improves with this new structure.