'It’s not a big loss for this club': Hasenhuttl confirms recruitment head Joe Shields has left Southampton to join Chelsea

Ralph Hasenhuttl has confirmed that their head of recruitment Joe Shields has left Southampton, after an agreement was struck between Chelsea and Shields.

"He came in August and he left in October," said Ralph. "It’s not a big loss for this club because the impact he had in the six weeks was not the biggest. We are not in the situation where we fall into depression.”

Shields had only joined Southampton from Man City this summer but has been lured away by Chelsea after just three months.

He has been directed to 'stay away' from Southampton's training ground and stadium ever since the club got word of his discussions with Chelsea.

Sheilds is likely to be handed a long notice-period, possibly 6 months, by Southampton. They will be open to reducing it in return for compensation by Chelsea, reports suggest.

His role at Chelsea is to be co-director of recruitment which effectively means he will advise Boehly and Eghbali, rather than deal with other clubs and intermediaries directly.

Shields is also expected to get a hefty bump in salary once he switches over from Southampton to Chelsea.