Chelsea are reportedly on the brink of agreeing a deal to hire former Liverpool recruitment chief Dave Fallows, who has been credited with a vital role in the Reds’ success over the past decade.

Fallows, most recently Liverpool’s director of scouting and recruitment, was part of the analytical revolution at Anfield following his arrival at the club in 2012. Working alongside Michael Edwards and Julian Ward, among others, he helped identify a number of signings which quickly became crucial to Liverpool’s on-field glory.

The likes of Alisson, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané are among those whose arrivals at Liverpool are credited to the analytics department, and The Athletic are one of a number of publications to state Chelsea are on the cusp of benefitting from Fallows’s expertise.

The 45-year-old, who also has spells with Manchester City, Newcastle United and Bolton Wanderers on his record, is expected to take up a role similar to that which he held at Liverpool, operating alongside sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart and co-directors of recruitment and talent Joe Shields and Sam Jewell.

“Scouting, player pathways and football development,” are named as areas which will benefit from Fallows’s focus.

Sadio Mané, Mohamed Salah
Sadio Mané (left) and Mohamed Salah were among the success stories of Liverpool’s recruitment team. | Alex Livesey/Danehouse/Getty Images

Liverpool were full of praise for Fallows when he departed the club in October 2024, having seen him delay his Anfield exit to help the new leadership team settle in around him, and described him as “fundamental” to the Reds’ re-emergence as a genuine European powerhouse.

Before this summer’s extravagant spending, Liverpool earned themselves a reputation as shrewd buyers in the transfer market, often striking gold on lower-profile signings.

While there were still big deals, such as the £75 million ($100.7 million) acquisition of centre back Virgil van Dijk in 2018, a lot of Liverpool’s success was built around cheaper signings like Salah, Mané and Roberto Firmino, who formed a formidable trio under former manager Jürgen Klopp.

Andy Robertson and Alisson are other examples of Liverpool’s willingness to put their faith in statistics when it comes to recruitment, and Fallows’s arrival clearly fits into Chelsea’s quest to become global leaders in player signings.

The Blues have spent significant funds since BlueCo’s arrival in 2022, prioritising younger signings with potential over big-name additions, and Fallows will be tasked with streamlining the process and identifying further signings for future windows.


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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea ‘Likely’ to Hire Ex-Liverpool Chief Credited With Salah, Alisson, Mane Signings.