Laurence Stewart is to leave Chelsea as co-sporting director by mutual consent.

understands that Stewart will depart Chelsea in the near future, though his exit is not immediate and he will continue to attend Chelsea games in the coming weeks.

Stewart joined Chelsea from Monaco as technical director in October 2022, and was appointed as co-sporting director in February 2023. His duties involved player identification, negotiations and squad planning. He will depart after four years at the club.

The decision is understood to be a mutual one and was taken after amicable talks between Stewart and the Chelsea owner Behdad Eghbali.

It has been described as part of the club’s natural evolution and Stewart’s duties have been shared out among Sam Jewell and Joe Shields in recent weeks and months.

Though the decision had not been made by May, Chelsea believe Stewart’s exit will fall in line with a number of changes of direction that took place around that time as senior figures hired Xabi Alonso as Liam Rosenior’s managerial successor and made key decisions to future-proof the club and the first team.

Though not believed to be moving straight into a new role, Stewart is eventually expected to take up another senior role in football. There are no plans at present for Chelsea to hire a replacement.

Stewart’s impending exit comes just weeks after Todd Boehly and Mark Walter each sold their stakes in Chelsea, worth £475m each.