The corridors at Stamford Bridge are getting barer by the day.
The transfer window is closed but the business hasn't ended for Todd Boehly, he'd probably say the real stuff has only just started. The new co-owner has been public with his plans for the club, bold with his actions and rewarded with support and optimism from Chelsea fans.
After a busy window in-which Boehly took the early decision to allow Petr Cech, Marina Granovskaia and Bruce Buck to all depart the club, with questions asked as to the thought behind losing so much footballing experience in one go, the American is now working without another of his senior figures at the club.
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Head of International scouting Scott McLachlan will now leave the club after 11 years of service, moving on to be the global head of football at Global Football Holdings, football.london understands.
It was revealed just hours after Thomas Tuchel's side beat West Ham 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, that McLachlan would be moving on from his post by David Ornstein of the Athletic. He also reported that there would be three months of gardening leave for McLachlan, who has come in for some criticism in recent times.
McLachlan has been part of a revolution towards data at Chelsea which will make the process smoother for Boehly. However, transfer window mistakes such as Antonio Conte's summer 2018 haul and a lack of relative top-flight scouting experience for his staff have led to questions being raised over the running of the club's network.
For Chelsea, this now leaves an empty set of seats at the high table. In a busy matter of months the most influential director roles at the club have been left vacant during an interim period which has gone about as well as it could have, with a massive summer overhaul in the squad taking place.
With the complex transfers now done, Boehly will have to act quickly to establish his new structure within the club, including to appoint a director of football. It will likely be an official director of football as opposed to the vague technical and performance advisory role that Cech held. Although the former Blues keeper was in an influential and key role at the club, it wasn't in the same context as the position Boehly now wants to add.
In effect, Boehly and Tuchel are the two most senior acting members. Scouts still remain and so do new board members and chiefs of departments, but on the footballing side of things, Boehly and Clearlake have free reign to turn Chelsea into a monster that can unleash the untapped potential the businessman no doubt sees in his project.
The director of football is perhaps the most important role in this hierarchy, and although it is important for them to get along with the manager, Tuchel admitted he won't be taking a role in the appointment process, saying, "I’m not involved in that, I have to say.
“I am so, so happy. I had the feeling for one-and-a-half days I shifted back to 100 per cent being a coach which I enjoy a lot and where my full energy will go from now on. We need that energy going into the team.
“It’s a very complex situation with sporting directors and which role they have. They are very different in different countries and clubs. It’s no secret that I loved to work with Petr [Cech]. The communication and having this kind of legend at Cobham, who took care of not only our building but the academy and the culture of the club, was a pure pleasure for me.
“It’s a big change to not have him and we’re still adapting. I am not actively involved in the search or building of a new structure. I’m not so sure it is my job.”
Tuchel has been vocal about his position and need to be the coach and not acting as a transfer advisor, scout or director however he, alongside Boehly, were backed into a corner this summer. The choice was to either stand still and wait, or improvise.
The improvisation has been done, to good effect too, but now it's time to see the real Boehly plan. From first glances and the active involvement he has taken, it looks promising.
For now, Chelsea will be moving on from a man, not solely responsible, but part of an organisational structure that has spent over £1.7bn on transfers in the last 10 years. Boehly will now be able to put in his own data-led plan into place.
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