![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The two men gave notice of their intent to build direct relationships by representing Chelsea at the Premier League’s annual meeting in early June, and later the same month, Boehly travelled to Portugal for a meeting with powerful agent Jorge Mendes at which Cristiano Ronaldo’s name was raised (more on that later). One individual working in English football who met the two men this summer told The Athletic that Eghbali came across as extremely involved and knowledgeable about specific players and the transfer market as a whole. Boehly and Clearlake, however, are understood to be comfortable with a decision they regard as in the club’s best sporting interests.īoehly wasted no time in establishing himself within football circles alongside Clearlake co-founder Behdad Eghbali, who has been highly visible and active in all Chelsea transfer discussions. The eventual terms - a loan fee of €8million plus add-ons, as well as a commitment to cover Lukaku’s wages at a reduced level - were highly favourable to Inter, and some at Chelsea have since wondered if waiting might have yielded a more rewarding market for a striker who has been one of Europe’s most reliable goalscorers for much of the past decade. Granovskaia and Cech were understood to be opposed to granting the Belgian his desired return to Inter on loan only one year after becoming Chelsea’s most expensive-ever signing in a £97.5million deal, but the new owners viewed ridding Tuchel of a player who had proven a nightmare fit with his system to be a necessary statement of faith. Key to their thinking was the Lukaku mess. Five days later, technical and performance advisor Cech also departed Stamford Bridge.Įyebrows were raised throughout European football at the swift dismantling of Chelsea’s well-regarded Abramovich-era football structure, but Boehly and joint-governors Clearlake Capital had quickly concluded that a more hands-on approach would be required in order to enact the new direction they wished to take. The confirmation that this would be a very different transfer window at Chelsea came on June 22, with the announcement that long-serving director Granovskaia was leaving and Boehly would assume the role of “interim sporting director” until the club named a full-time replacement. How the Leeds United and Southampton defeats influenced thinking on signing Aubameyang and a new midfielderĬhelsea’s new era has started with a bang, and one of the most eventful transfer windows that any club has ever experienced.The strategy behind not selling academy youngsters and giving new signings unusually long contracts.Strong resistance to Gary Neville’s claim that Boehly has been playing Football Manager and accusations of reckless spending. ![]() Tuchel’s heightened agitation in July over lack of transfer progress.Disagreements with Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech about Romelu Lukaku’s proposed loan return to Inter.The Athletic spoke to people inside and outside Chelsea to tell the full story, which includes: It has been nothing short of a rollercoaster, the tremors of which have been felt throughout English and European football. Boehly has had to move fast and learn faster, adapting to an unforgiving transfer market and trying to make up ground on Chelsea’s rivals while rebuilding Thomas Tuchel’s squad, in near-constant talks to buy and sell footballers from mid-June to September 1. Many more players were approached, with some spurning interest from Stamford Bridge in public and humiliating fashion. It is a recruitment drive of staggering scale, comparable to the one bankrolled by Roman Abramovich in the weeks following his £140million takeover of Chelsea in 2003. Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Gabriel Slonina, Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei, Wesley Fofana, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Denis Zakaria: nine new signings acquired with spending in excess of £250million ($288m), and primed to rise further with performance-related add-ons. ![]()
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