Manchester City are reportedly 'not amused' that Chelsea are set to appoint Southampton's Joe Shields as their new director of recruitment.
After nine years with the Citizens as their head of youth recruitment, Shields left the club in June to join Southampton as their new head of senior recruitment under Ralph Hasenhuttl.
The 35-year-old, who has previously held scouting roles at Crystal Palace and Fulham, was rated highly by Man City and discovered a number of top young talents during his time at the Etihad Stadium including the likes of Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho and Romeo Lavia.
The latter of whom joined Shields at St Mary's over the summer, with the Saints spending close to £15m on the 18-year-old midfielder who starred for City's academy side last season.
Gavin Bazunu, Sam Edozie and Juan Larios also swapped academy football at City for the opportunity to feature regularly at senior level under Hasenhuttl at Southampton.
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Shields is only three months into his job on the South coast, but a recent report from The Athletic claims that Chelsea have approached Shields and the Saints chief is now considering a swift move to Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile, 90min states that Shields has agreed to make the move to West London, a decision which has 'angered' both Southampton and Man City.
The report adds that Shields is yet to finalise personal terms with Chelsea and he would have to serve a period of gardening leave before potentially joining up with the Blues around Easter time of next year.
Chelsea are understood to have approached Shields shortly after attempting to sign Lavia from Southampton in a £50m deal on deadline day.
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Southampton have allegedly been left 'furious' and 'upset' with Shields's decision to leave so soon after arriving at the club, while Man City are 'not amused' to see their former chief joining one of their main Premier League rivals.
Wholesale changes have been made to Chelsea's hierarchy since the arrival of owner Todd Boehly, with his most high-profile change taking place in the dugout, with Graham Potter replacing Thomas Tuchel last month.
The West Londoners are said to be closing in on the appointment of Christopher Vivell from RB Leipzig as their new technical director, while recruitment analyst Kyle Macaulay has followed Potter from Brighton & Hove Albion.
Boehly is also still on the lookout for a new sporting director, with former Liverpool chief Michael Edwards believed to be one of his primary targets.
Oliver Thomas
