Who is going to be the next long-term sporting director at Stamford Bridge?
This is the key question of the day after it was revealed by German outlet Sport Bild that Todd Boehly and his group were already preparing for life without Marina Granovskaia after it was revealed that the Russian was set to leave the club by August. Granovskaia, alongside the likes of Bruce Buck, have been long-serving directors at Stamford Bridge under the now-former owner who sold the club to Boehly and the Clearlake Capital consortium earlier this week. The Russian businesswoman, who is renown for leading the club's transfer negotiations, won the award for best sporting director at the most recent Golden Boy awards.
Therefore reports stating that her exit is to follow Abramovich's will be somewhat of a blow to the current Club World Champions who have prospered greatly off some of her business decisions- not always restricted to the transfer market. football.london understands that it is true that Granovskaia could certainly leave the club in the future but the August time frame as reported in Germany may be a little premature due to the fact that the club will not want more instability during the upcoming summer transfer window.
It is certainly news that will disappoint first team manager of the men's setup Thomas Tuchel who is understood to have a great relationship with Granovskaia. Earlier in the season, after the sanctions against Chelsea were announced, the German made his stance clear on what he wants to see happen with certain members of the board.
He said in a press conference: "This will not be my choice. This is part of it. I can only tell you until now it was an excellent relationship that worked so well for me and also hopefully the two others to take these decisions and have updates in a small circle of communication and responsibility.
"Hopefully it will stay like this but I have no influence in it, no information if it will.”
Now, all attention will shift to who will be the natural heir to replacing Abramovich's great ally. In the same report from Bild, they state that Atletico Madrid's Andrea Berta is being viewed as the ideal candidate by the new owners ahead of Monaco's Paul Mitchell but no final decision is imminent.
In the meantime, both Boehly and Granovskaia have been pictured with fans in SW6 as talks between the pair are set to continue regarding the expected re-shuffle that is to most likely happen in the board room. If the director known to many as the Iron Lady was to move on in the near future, it is unknown currently what would be next in her illustrious career. Will she re-ignite with Abramovich at one of his new clubs or could she even branch out and join another European or Premier League club?
Chelsea fans- What would you do if you were in Todd Boehly shoes- keep Marina Granovskaia altogether and add another sporting director to share the burden or let her go completely and start afresh with someone new? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
