Chelsea's summer crisis: Mass exodus continues with Cech departure

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 27 Jun 2022 09:48 CDT
• 4 min read

Todd Boehly has begun his reign at Chelsea with an iron first, and Petr Cech's departure as technical and performance advisor is the latest of multiple changes at the club.

Since his bid to acquire the club from Roman Abramovich was approved by the UK government, the American billionaire has proceeded to alter the structure of the club severely, keen to stamp his own authority and style at Stamford Bridge.

Boehly, 48, has set out his stool on how Chelsea will look under his leadership and has taken the approach to wipe the slate clean and start afresh.

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Delays in the takeover ensured contract renewal talks with several players couldn't take place, which has left Chelsea in a perilous position in regards to their defensive options.

Both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen have left the club following the expiration of their contract, with the former joining Real Madrid and the latter expected to join Los Blancos' arch-rivals Barcelona.

Jake Clarke-Salter, Danny Drinkwater and Charly Musonda have also departed, while Saul Niguez has returned to Atletico Madrid after the completion of his one-year loan spell.

These departures of players are expected to be accompanied by multiple arrivals, as Boehly is said to have promised to provide Thomas Tuchel with a 'war-chest' to spend this summer.

So far the Blues are yet to add to their playing squad, but have been heavily linked with moves for Ousmane Dembele, Raheem Sterling and Matthijs de Ligt.

However, alterations to the playing staff are far from all that has changed at the club.

What has changed behind-the-scenes?

First of all, Boehly has appointed himself as interim sporting director following the departure of famed negotiator Marina Granovskaia.

Granovskaia was Abramovich's right-hand figure at the club, and she will oversee the rest of the transfer operations from afar this summer and be available to Boehly before permanently leaving at the close of the window. But, she is effectively out of the door already.

Cech is the latest to leave the club, with the Chelsea legend deciding to step away from his post as technical and performance advisor. Boehly said of the former goalkeeper's exit: "Petr is an important member of the Chelsea family. We understand his decision to step away and thank him for his contributions as an advisor and his commitment to the club and to our community. We wish him the best."

It's understood that both Cech and Granovskaia were keen to keep faith in club-record signing Romelu Lukaku, which was a view opposed by both Tuchel and Boehly. Lukaku is expected to complete his loan move back to Inter Milan this week.

Bruce Buck has also recently agreed to step down as club chairman, with Boehly taking up that position. Buck, 76, became chairman in 2003 when Abramovich bought the club and enjoyed nearly two decades of success at Stamford Bridge.

All in all, Chelsea have lost their technical and performance advisor in Cech, their director and lead transfer negotiator in Granovskaia, their chairman in Buck, their club-record signing in Lukaku and two key defenders in Rudiger and Christensen before signing any new additions to the squad.

Boehly has taken a firm stance to begin his reign, and despite no prior experience in football has appointed himself interim sporting director in charge of all transfer and football related activities while the club looks for a full-time replacement.

His time at Chelsea has started with an exodus, but incomings are expected before too long.