Blackpool NOT set to appoint academy chief Ciaran Donnelly as new sporting director

Journalist Alan Nixon reported via his Patreon page on Sunday that Donnelly was set to fill the vacancy left by Chris Badlan.

But The Gazette understands this is not the case and Donnelly will be remaining as the club’s academy director.

Donnelly, who has held the position since 2020, is highly regarded at Bloomfield Road and is said to be doing an excellent job in his current role.

Blackpool were left without a sporting director after Badlan made a shock departure earlier this month after just four months in the role.

Badlan only made the move to Bloomfield Road at the end of November after leaving Coventry City alongside Stuart Bentham, who became the club’s chief scout.

The duo were tasked with overseeing the club’s recruitment strategy, with the sporting director role replacing the head of football operations position that had been vacated by John Stephenson.

Badlan was also overseeing the club’s search for a new head coach and was in the midst of assembling a shortlist of names before a final appointment was made during the summer.

No reason was given for Badlan’s departure, with Blackpool only releasing a brief 25-word statement on the matter.

“Blackpool Football Club can confirm that sporting director Chris Badlan has left the club with immediate effect,” the Seasiders said.

“The club will be making no further comment.”

Heavily involved with recruitment, Badlan was tasked with managing the “sporting and performance departments at the club, including the support staff around the first-team, development squad and academy”.

While working with Coventry, he was responsible for signing the likes of Callum O’Hare and Viktor Gyokeres during a period where the Sky Blues enjoyed two promotions before establishing themselves in the Championship.

Badlan previously worked at Wolves where he helped set up a data department as well as identifying emerging talent.

His work at Molineux saw him reunite with Stuart Webber at Norwich City, taking up the role of head of European scouting in 2017 to lead the Canaries’ international recruitment strategy.

Upon taking his appointment at Blackpool, Badlan said he was excited “to help build a footballing strategy for the long-term future”.