“I can definitely rule that out” – Red Bull Salzburg chief breaks silence on Chelsea interest in sporting director Christoph Freund

Red Bull Salzburg's chief executive officer (CEO) Stephan Reiter has denied claims that the club's sporting director Chistoph Freund is set to join Chelsea.

Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano reported on Monday (September 19) that Freund joining the Blues was just a "matter of time." However, Reiter has set the record straight by stating that Salzburg doesn't intend to let their sporting director leave just yet.

He told Sky Sports Austria (as quoted by the Daily Mail):

"I can definitely rule that out, neither Chelsea nor Christoph Freund spoke to me or the club management about something like that. Christoph recently signed a contract with us until 2026, which applies to him as well as to players, managers or coaches."

Freund has been with the Austrian club since 2015 and has previously proved his expertise in finding top-level talent. As per talkSPORT, he scouted the likes of Erling Haaland, Sadio Mane, Dayot Upamecano and Naby Keita for Salzburg.

Reiter's update will come as a blow to the Premier League giants, who are in the middle of a massive restructuring process under their new owners. The likes of Bruce Buck, Marina Granovskaia and, most recently, first-team manager Thomas Tuchel have departed the club in recent months.

Co-owner Todd Boehly acted as the interim sporting director over the course of the summer transfer window, with Chelsea adding plenty of new signings.

Their frontline was bolstered by the arrivals of Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella were added to strengthen a depleted defense. Youngsters Carney Chukwuemeka and Gabriel Slonina also joined the club this summer.

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Chelsea have struggled for fluency this season

Chelsea began the season with a hard-fought 1-0 victory away to Everton in the Premier League. Their performance didn't impress many, with analysts and fans arguing that the Toffees deserved something from the match.

They put in their best display of the season so far in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur before crumbling to a 3-0 loss away to Leeds United. This was followed by 2-1 victories against Leicester City and West Ham United, which came either side of a defeat by the same margin against Southampton.

The Blues then opened their UEFA Champions League campaign with a poor 1-0 defeat away to Dinamo Zagreb, which spelled the end of the road for Tuchel. They brought in Graham Potter, who oversaw a mixed performance during their 1-1 draw against Salzburg in their second encounter in Europe.

It will now be up to Potter to get Chelsea's campaign back on track after a poor start once the players return from the ongoing international break.