Chelsea backroom shake-up continues as Jim Hicks appointed head of coach development

Chelsea have appointed Jim Hicks in a post-January shake-up of the backroom staff at Cobham.

The 63-year-old resigned from a role at the PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association) last month to become Chelsea’s head of coach development.

Hicks will work on developing coaches from Under-15s to the U21s level across the academy and women’s set-up.

Chelsea have a history of developing excellent coaches and players, with Brendan Rodgers, Michael Beale and Joe Edwards all plying their trade before going on to top jobs elsewhere.

Hicks, a former centre-back for Fulham, Oxford and Exeter, returns to club football after 18 years as the head of coaching at the PFA.

He previously spent 15 years coaching at Millwall, where he led the women’s Lionesses team to a Premier League and FA Cup double in 1997.

Chelsea this week also appointed Brighton’s head of recruitment, Sam Jewell, to a new position heading up the multi-club operation.

Jewell will join after a period of gardening leave and arrived after Josh Marsh, the club’s new loan manager, was recruited from Swansea.

They will both have a say at BlueCo, Chelsea’s parent company, in connecting the club to French top-flight RC Strasbourg and any further properties purchased from Belgium, Portugal and Brazil.