Journalist Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Southampton head of recruitment Joe Shields will complete his move away from the club regardless of the current delay.
It has been reported that the Saints’ man has already left the club in favour of Chelsea, and Ralph Hasenhuttl even hinted at the news in a recent press conference, telling the media (via The Sun): “He came in August and he left in October.”
However, no official switch has been announced by either club as of yet and so some confusion has lingered over the Southampton situation. Despite that, it seems as though there is no issue with the switch and the delay is natural.
Indeed, while speaking about Shields on House of Champions: A Daily CBS Soccer Podcast, Romano explained (08:39): “This is not FIFA. You need some time to have all the agreements, to sign all the contracts. And so it’s normal to have this kind of timing.”
He continued: “About Joe Shields, he will be the new co-director of recruitment at Chelsea. The agreement is 100 percent confirmed. Joe Shields will leave Southampton in the next weeks and will sign for Chelsea.
“So don’t worry about the official statement. We have to wait a bit, it is normal in football. It is not just with Joe Shields and Chelsea, but in general. It always takes so long in these kinds of cases if people are already working for another club. But Joe Shields will be the new Chelsea co-director of recruitment.
TIF thoughts on Joe Shields and Southampton…
Shields had actually been at Manchester City – acting as an influential figure in helping the club become one of the leading youth recruitment departments in the Premier League – before joining the Saints this summer.
Just three months after that move, however, The Athletic reported that he would be on his way to Chelsea. The article explained that he had been told to stay away from the Saints and presumably he has done just that ever since.
With that in mind, it must seem strange that the Blues are yet to officially confirm him as a club employee but that same report does mention that he may have to serve a six-month notice period but Southampton would consider accepting a compensation package to let him leave early.
Regardless of it all, Romano has confirmed that Shields will definitely be working with Graham Potter from now on and his time on the south coast is over for now.