3 Directors of Football that Chelsea could target

It was a seismic Monday for Chelsea with news breaking that Bruce Buck would be stepping down as chairman of the club at the end of June. A few hours later, news began to filter in that Marina Granovskaia, the Director of Football at Chelsea, would also be leaving the club. According to journalist Matt Law, Marina Granovskaia's departure could be imminent.

Todd Boehly and Chelsea were expected to keep Marina Granovskaia around for at least this summer, but the process seems to have been expedited. Both Boehley and Thomas Tuchel will helm the negotiations for the time being, but a replacement will need to be found. Marina Granovskaia was recently crowned Europe's top Director of Football, and a replacement of a similar calibur will be hard to find.

With this list, we explore three possible candidates to replace Granovskaia at Chelsea.

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#1 Michael Edwards - Director of Football at Liverpool

Michael Edwards alongside Jürgen Klopp

Michael Edwards is Liverpool's Director of Football and was largely responsible for the recruitment and success the club has achieved under Jürgen Klopp in recent years. He announced that he would be stepping down from the role at the end of the season and would be replaced by his assistant, Julian Ward. Under Klopp, Edwards helped Liverpool win all six trophies in recent history.

Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, and Sadio Mane are just some of the players Edwards has helped bring to Liverpool in recent seasons. Edwards was also key in Barcelona's purchase of Philippe Coutinho, helping Liverpool receive a £142 million transfer fee.

Todd Boehly would want to style Chelsea in a similar way to Liverpool, and Edwards would be the perfect person to help do it.

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#2 Paul Mitchell - Director of Football at AS Monaco

Paul Mitchell - Director of Football at AS Monaco

40-year-old Paul Mitchell is the Director of Football at Ligue 1 club AS Monaco. He has attracted interest from Chelsea's prospective owners throughout the bidding process, but Monaco announced he would be staying at the club this season. Mitchell has had a successful career in recruitment, specifically at Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur, having worked alongside Mauricio Pochettino.

At Tottenham, he helped attract players like Dele Alli and Son Heung-Min to the club. In 2018, he became the Head of Recruitment at RB Leipzig and oversaw the signings of Matheus Cunha and Nordi Mukiele, among others.

He attracted interest from clubs like Manchester United but moved to AS Monaco in 2020. Mitchell would be a good fit to work with progressive owners like Boehly.

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#3 Michael Emenalo - Ex-Director of Football at Chelsea

Michael Emenalo - Sporting Director

Michael Emenalo is a familiar figure for everyone at Chelsea. He joined the club in 2007 as part of the coaching staff and became technical director in 2011. Under Emenalo, the club has attracted some of the most successful players in world football today. Juan Mata, Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, and Mohamed Salah are just some of the players Chelsea have signed.

Emenalo helped restructure the academy and worked well alongside Neil Bath and Emma Hayes. With Thomas Tuchel and Todd Boehly in the mix, Emenalo could have a manager and owner who respects his brilliant talent identification.

Emenalo is currently unemployed, having left his job as Director of Football at Monaco in 2019. If other prospects are unattainable, Emenalo would be a safe bet.