Michael Edwards has no intentions of stepping straight back into the cauldron of Premier League football after the ex-Liverpool chief rejected a job at Chelsea.
Edwards has been highly revered for his work at Anfield as sporting director, where he helped Liverpool become one of the titans of world football thanks in large part to his shrewd skills in recruiting players. The former analyst developed a reputation as a tough negotiator during his time on Merseyside, selling a number of players on for huge profit while also seeking out relative bargains in the transfer market.
It is that reputation which put Edwards at the top of the list for many clubs across Europe when it was announced he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of last season. The Athletic report that Chelsea have already made an approach for Edwards to join Todd Boehly's revolution at Stamford Bridge, but have seen their offer turned down.
Boehly has currently been fulfiling the role himself at Chelsea after director Marina Granovskaia departed following the successful completion of the takeover by the American businessman and his consortium. However, despite overseeing impressive deals for Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly, Boehly is aware this is only a short-term arrangement, as Chelsea continue to seek out potential options.
Edwards was their prime target to fill the void in west London, but he has informed Chelsea he wishes too take an extended break from football after an intense spell with Liverpool. That rules out any prospect of an immediate return to the game, which could lead Chelsea to other targets.
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There is a general understanding inside Stamford Bridge, though, that finding the right candidate may not be a quick process, given many of the best sporting directors are already heavily involved at other clubs. Liverpool themselves opted to keep it in-house by promoting Edwards' old understudy Julian Ward into the more senior role.
It is not expected that Chelsea will make an appointment before the transfer deadline at the end of this month, leaving Boehly in charge of their business, at least for now.
In addition to Sterling and Koulibaly, Chelsea have also signed youngster Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa, as well as full-back Marc Cucurella from Brighton. Teenage goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina has also arrived from Chicago Fire but has been loaned back to them for the season.
Chelsea are still thought to be chasing a number of targets, with Barcelona duo Frenkie de Jong and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on their radar. Defender Marcos Alonso is posed to go the other way after agreeing a deal in principle with the Catalan club, though there problems with registering players due to their financial situation could scupper a deal.
The Blues are also interested in signing Everton winger Anthony Gordon but have already seen a £40million bid knocked back by the Toffees. Gordon has rose through the youth ranks at Goodison Park to become one of the club's key players, though Everton's resolve could be tested as Chelsea are reportedly willing to pay up to £50m for the 21-year-old.
