Chelsea have been handed a major blow in their mission to narrow the gap with runaway Premier League title contenders Manchester City and Liverpool. Since the the American-led consortium took ownership of the west London club, Todd Boehly has been a driving force in ensuring that Thomas Tuchel's ambitions are funded.
Under Roman Abramovich, across two full transfer windows, the Blues boss was gifted just three new faces. Of whom, one - Romelu Lukaku - was considered as a first-team staple, another - Saul Niguez - being a deadline day emergency loanee and the other - Marcus Bettinelli - a third-string goalkeeper.
While the lack of arrivals under Tuchel, despite his great success, was one problem, deciding where to allocate funding was another and Boehly has looked to solve this with the appointment of a sporting director. Chelsea are said to be in the market for a transfer guru having failed to fill the position left by Michael Emenalo in 2017; Marina Granovskaia, who left her position at Stamford Bridge as a director this summer, managed negotiations oppose to leading talent identification.
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According to The Athletic, former Liverpool chief Michael Edwards was leading target for the Blues. But, to Boehly's despair, it's said that Edwards has turned the opportunity to work at Chelsea, with the intention of taking a break from the sport.
Edwards was responsible for the arrivals of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane, spending an eye-watering £552.6m at Anfield since the summer of 2016. He has built himself a reputation for his impressive success rate with transfers that have gone on to warrant - and exceed - the fee paid.
Though despite the setback, Chelsea are marching on towards success, claims Boehly. In a statement published in the Blues' match-day programme versus Tottenham, the LA Dodgers' co-owner wrote: "On behalf of the new board of Chelsea Football Club, I’d like to welcome you all back to Stamford Bridge for the first home game of the season. We are excited and honoured to bet here with you - your dedication, passion and loyalty have kept the blue flag flying high.
"There is a simple mantra that guides us every day: we want to win, together, and make you proud. As one of the world’s elite football clubs, Chelsea sits at the pinnacle of the game. We want to build on this remarkable history of success by acquiring quality talent across our senior, youth and women’s teams, exploring ways to improve the game-day experience – such as the Bridge and Kingsmeadow – and continuing our service to the community, including the vital work of the Chelsea Foundation.
"Today’s game is an opportunity to welcome our new signings to the Bridge for the time as Chelsea players. There is so much for us to accomplish together.
"The same excitement goes for our women’s team and academy set-up, both of which are among the very best in the world. We’re so proud of their successes, and we eagerly await next month, when Emma Hayes brings the Chelsea Women squad here to the Bridge to begin their WSL title defence.
"We are looking forward to Chelsea’s bright future this year – and every year. So let us sit back and cheer, and let Thomas and the boys hear us roar."
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