Brighton recruitment guru Sam Jewell is reportedly a target of both Chelsea and Manchester United as the two clubs look to make improvements off the field.
Chelsea are said to have stepped up their pursuit of Jewell with Manchester United eyeing him to assist Dan Ashworth, a former technical director at Brighton now in a similar role with Newcastle but on the Old Trafford club’s radar.
Jewell, who is in his mid-thirties, has had a swift rise through the ranks at Brighton, replacing head of recruitment Paul Winstanley in November 2022 after his former boss joined Chelsea.
He has impressed Roberto De Zerbi in the transfer market, with another productive summer last year featuring a number of eye-catching and intelligent signings.
“He’s a top guy, my friend,” De Zerbi said of Jewell to The Athletic. “He worked very well in the last transfer market (window). He’s very young, but he has a big talent, big passion. He knows all players in the world… like me!”
Jewell is said to have been heavily involved in Brighton’s deals for Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo, who have since been sold for significant profits.
The head of recruitment joined the south coast club in 2016, but is from good footballing pedigree.
Dad Paul Jewell enjoyed a productive managerial career, taking Bradford City and Wigan into the Premier League. The 59-year-old was last a director of football at Swindon Town, and has helped his son forge his own career in the sport.
“He was managing in the top flight when I was eight, so I grew up inside the game – it was all I ever knew,” Sam Jewell said of his father’s influence in an interview with Brighton’s website. “I was part of that environment, experiencing at very close quarters his highs and lows, and that has stood me in good stead for where I am today.
“I’ve got a close relationship with him – we speak most days. It’s good for me to have that sounding board and he now kicks every ball for Brighton, so the roles have been reversed!”
The younger Jewell spent time in the academies of Bradford and Leeds, but was also a talented golfer, competing alongside Rory McIlroy and Masters winner Danny Willett in a number of national events.
He began his career in football directorship and scouting at Newport County, before spending 18 months as chief scout at Swindon.
His move to Brighton in 2016 came to oversee recruitment at Under 21 level, before being elevated to the club’s emerging talent scouting manager two years later.
Jewell learned Spanish during the Covid pandemic in order to be able to better converse with players who speak the language, which has aided Brighton’s recruitment in Latin America.
Brighton’s transfer dealings have been highly regarded within football, and while Jewell’s work within that is partly the reason he is on Chelsea and Manchester United’s radar.
“It’s very difficult to copy [Brighton] because we’ve got a very unique way of working, so I think the key for us is to not get complacent or let our guard down,” Jewell explained. “We’ve got a world-class manager and we [have been] playing in Europe, we are a big draw for players now
“We’re never going to have the financial power of other clubs, but we feel we have a unique culture, a unique philosophy – and we’ve already seen players turning down bigger money elsewhere to come on this journey, which I’m sure they won’t regret.”
