Chelsea

Chelsea

Premier League • England

Michael Edwards turns down Chelsea as Todd Boehly scrambles for Marina Granovskaia replacement

Michael Edwards arriving for a Liverpool awards ceremony

Liverpool’s outgoing transfer guru Michael Edwards has turned down an offer to become Chelsea’s new sporting director, claims a report.

Edwards will move on at the end of the month after 10 years at Anfield. Julian Ward is already in situ at Anfield and he will officially take over from Edwards on July 1.

Ward is though understood to have taken the lead on deals for Aberdeen’s Calvin Ramsey and Darwin Nunez from Benfica with Edwards overseeing the transition.

And even before sporting director Edwards has officially departed he is understood to have turned down American tycoon Todd Boehly’s offer to step into Marina Granovskaia’s shoes.

The Chelsea director, who was responsible for transfers, has stepped down leaving Boehly responsible for transfers for the time being.

Boehly, who is chairman of Chelsea’s new board, is though looking to appoint a sporting director and, according to CaughtOffside, made Edwards an offer.

Edwards though has knocked back the interest.

Whether Boehly will make another approach remains to be seen, but he will surely want someone experienced in the role ahead of a busy summer at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea options beyond Michael Edwards

Atletico Madrid’s Andrea Berta, who has overseen some big-money deals including Joao Felix and Thomas Lemar is an option, as per The Telegraph.

Paul Mitchell at AS Monaco is also a target, according to Football.london. While former Chelsea director of football Michael Emenalo remains out of work.

Emenalo, who quit Stamford Bridge in 2017, recently rejected Newcastle’s offer to become their new director of football.

Emenalo chose to end his 10-year association at Chelsea. He resigned as technical director after The Guardian described “political manoeuvrings behind the scenes”.

However, Emenalo, 56, who joined as an opposition scout under Avram Grant, had close ties to Roman Abramovich.

The Nigerian worked his way up at Chelsea and became a board member and trusted by former owner Abramovich.

However, the swift departures of Bruce Buck and Granovskaia suggests Emenalo may well be overlooked.

READ MORE: Chelsea transfer latest: Richarlison the top target as Todd Boehly draws up five-man shortlist to replace Romelu Lukaku