Roman Abramovich's groundbreaking Chelsea signing can create Manchester City transfer dynasty

Chelsea hasn't had a director of football or sporting director since 2017 when Michael Emenalo shockingly stepped down from his position.

Emenalo was a vital cog in Chelsea's recruitment process and the relationship between the head coach and the club's hierarchy.

It has been over four years, and the position has not been replaced. Petr Cech took up the technical and performance advisor role in 2019, following his retirement from football.

Cech had taken an active role in recruitment, having a hand in negotiations alongside Frank Lampard for Timo Werner in early 2020 before the German signed from RB Leipzig for £45m.

His most notable involvement was the deal later that same year for Edouard Mendy from Rennes, given his previous connection to the French club.

But that brilliant deal probably did more to demonstrate Chelsea's main shortcoming in the market, given Cech, along with the head of goalkeeping Christophe Lollichon, identified Mendy outside the club's main scouting department.

This week, reports have emerged that Abramovich might be looking to replace Emenalo with former Barcelona technical director Ramon Planes.

Planes left his role at Barcelona in November at his request, and Sport Witness notes that many top European clubs are eyeing the man responsible for discovering exciting young talents like Gavi, Pedri, and Ronald Araujo.

Bringing a sporting director in would radically alter the way Chelsea have been structured over recent years, a structure current head coach Thomas Tuchel has praised repeatedly given its suitability to his style.

Marina Granovskaia's influence on the day-to-day running of the club and as a chief negotiator has led her to be recognised as one of the best operators in world football.