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Football London
Football London
Sport
Daniel Childs

Three Chelsea transfer decisions Todd Boehly must make with Marina Granovskaia exit expected

Being a Chelsea supporter conditions you to expect seismic change in rapid time. There is no better demonstration of this than the dramatic takeover that has reshaped the course of the club's history.

On Monday morning, both Bruce Buck and Marina Granovskaia still remained as key figures in the hierarchy, by lunchtime, they were on the way out. Although we are yet to receive official confirmation of Granovskaia's departure from the club, the end of her near 20-year career with Chelsea is expected to be announced this week.

Todd Boehly, the public face of the consortium that replaced Roman Abramovich, is set to not only fill the vacant chairmanship left by Buck but also take up the transfer negotiations that were previously handled by Granovskaia.

READ MORE: Marina Granovskaia's brutal Chelsea exit signals beginning of Todd Boehly's Liverpool pledge

It is expected that the wide-reaching change will continue as Boehly's group assess the structure of the club and what needs altering. In the short-term Boehly and Thomas Tuchel will work together on this crucial window to rebuild the squad, though moving forward there are still big decisions to make.

Let's go through three that Boehly must make after the departures of Granovskaia and Buck.

A Sporting Director

A position that has long been vacant at Chelsea and is likely to be filled in the next year should Boehly aim to replicate the success of his domestic and European rivals.

Chelsea are a bit of an outlier in not having someone overseeing the club's transfer strategy, involved in negotiations or having direct contact with the current head coach. Michael Emenalo was a "technical director" after being a chief scout between 2011 and 2017. Petr Cech is arguably the closest to this role in the current structure, having had a hand in deals since being appointed after his playing career ended in 2019.

We have seen the positive impact of Txiki Begiristain at Manchester City, Michael Edwards at Liverpool and Michael Zorc has had at Borussia Dortmund. These figures can help shape the long-term vision and hopefully align different areas of the club, which at Chelsea, could be accused of being muddled across recent years.

Tuchel targets signed

Purely for the short-term, Tuchel will likely now get a greater say over the players Chelsea goes after, aiming to shape the team in his own style, a position of influence some of his predecessors would have dreamed of.

This level of say doesn't come without its drawbacks as Chelsea have seen across the past five years when they have spent on specialist players for specific coaches.

However, given the positivity and belief around Tuchel, giving him the platform to succeed or fail on his own terms feels like a healthier approach than sticking to the muddled squad that has caused problems since the last title win in 2017.

Ending the loan army

Should Boehly want a leaner, more refined and financially sensible approach to spending, the years of stockpiling talent are going to have to end.

A persistent criticism of Granovskaia in recent years has been the failure to offload ageing, unwanted players. At times demanding unrealistic fees for players whose values continue to depreciate as they are sent on forgettable loans across Europe, still commanding sizeable wages.

Not only should Boehly take a firmer stance on utilising the academy but end the bloated loan army that saw 40 players return to Cobham last summer.

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