As Chelsea have entered a new era in terms of ownership, Roman Abramovich's footprint will remain. All his efforts into the club will be remembered for generations, however can we say the same for his No. 2, Marina Granovskaia?
Todd Boehly's consortium has taken over Chelsea and it is unclear as to whether or not Granovskaia will have a future on his board of directors. As the current director of Chelsea, she has completely broken the barriers and punched through the glass ceiling to become one of the most powerful women in football.
Football journalist Dean Jones expects decisions about her future to be made sooner rather than later. Speaking to Give Me Sport, Jones discusses Granvoskaia's current position and future with Chelsea. He said: “I’m expecting some clarity on her situation soon. I was told that there might even be a statement in the next week or so over Granovskaia’s role at Chelsea, so it’ll be an interesting one. Largely, I think she’s done a really good job at Chelsea, but there have been some failures.
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“You go back and look at the [Romelu] Lukaku situation last summer, there were definitely some people around Chelsea that didn’t think that was a good idea, but Abramovich did and Granovskaia did and it hasn’t worked out. So it’ll be interesting to see which way that falls, but there’s certainly some doubt over whether she continues."
Since 2012, Granovskaia has been involved in Chelsea's transfer negotiations. Whilst she holds the nickname as "the Iron Lady" for her fantastically brutal negotiations in the transfer market, she also has some flaws in how she is perceived. Fans have claimed that she is too rigid or stingy in her negotiations, which is why the Blues have failed to sign players such as Virgil Van Dijk and Allison Becker in the past.
There are also questions around the way she handles her outgoings. Frustrations have built regarding Chelsea's long term relationship with fringe players such as Michy Bathsuayi, Danny Drinkwater and Timoue Bakayoko. In hindsight, if we had just sold these players at the optimal time, the Blues probably wouldn't be in such a transfer crisis at the present day.
The truth is that Marina Granovskaia has her flaws but Chelsea would probably have suffered all these years without her. Her negotiation tactics are unparalleled. Her most notable outgoing was being able to sell outcast, Alvaro Morata without a loss. Also encouraging Real Madrid into a transfer for Eden Hazard in the last year of his contract was another master stoke from the Russian. She is an integral key to Chelsea's relationship with SBV Vitesse and was also key in Chelsea's 15-year deal with Nike worth around £900 million.
Overall, there are positive and negative moments shared with Abramovich's No. 2. Her fierce reputation will be worth it in the long run in this new unprecedented era. Boehly needs a negotiator that has a no-nonsense policy and can get the job done. It doesn't get better than Granovskaia, so as a fan I hope that this will be the start of a new partnership to come.
