Chelsea confirmed on Wednesday morning that Marina Granovskaia had left her role as the Club's director in a major reshuffle in the boardroom at Stamford Bridge. Granovskaia was brought in alongside Roman Abramovich in 2003 but has now ended her 19-year association with the Blues.
"The announcement includes the departure of Marina Granovskaia, director of Chelsea FC," a statement on the Club's website read. "Boehly will operate as interim sporting director until the Club names a full-time replacement, continuing the Club's work towards its targets during the current transfer window.
"Chelsea FC and Ms. Granovskaia have agreed that she will remain available to Boehly and the Club for the duration of the current transfer window, to the extent required to support the transition."
As referred to in the statement, Boehly will be the interim sporting director in charge of transfers until the club find someone to replace the American. Someone who that could be is Michael Edwards.
Edwards, who left Liverpool at the end of the 2021/22 season, played a key role in the Reds' recent resurgence under Jurgen Klopp. With signings like Sadio Mane for £34million, Mohamed Salah for the same price, Andy Robertson for £8m and so on.
According to CaughtOffside, Chelsea have approached Edwards about becoming the club's new sporting director now that he has left Anfield. However, the former Reds chief reportedly turned down the offer.
Whether or not Chelsea can persuade Edwards to become the club's new transfer guru remains to be seen, but he has quite the reputation. Here's what Liverpool boss Klopp said on his departure when it was announced towards the end of last year.
"I wish Michael and his wonderful family all the best for whatever they choose to do next. I know he isn't leaving immediately or in haste, which is cool, so we still have some time to work together.
"If we are as fortunate and blessed as we have been so far, maybe we can create some special memories for our club in this remaining time. He has been a constant presence during my period at Liverpool, and his contribution to our success is clear for everyone to see."
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, now the manager of Aston Villa, also had some kind words to say about Edwards, who he knows well. Gerrard said this earlier in the year: "I don't think that he has had enough credit outside of Liverpool, but obviously being in the city and spending a lot of time over the years around Michael, make no mistake, the Liverpool fans adore him and really appreciate the role that he has played."
If Edwards is impossible to convince, then Atletico Madrid's Andrea Berta could be an option for Chelsea. According to Sport Bild, Berta, who has been at Atletico since 2013, has brought huge success to the Spanish club with his negotiations - being key in signing the likes of Jan Oblak, Antoine Griezmann and Radamel Falcao.
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