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.
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