Granovskaia’s first 10 signings as director & where are they now

Marina Granovskaia is no longer with Chelsea but her legacy and reputation, built through strong management and good recruitment, will remain intact with the club’s supporters

Graovskaia earnt herself acclaim as one of European football’s top administrators since becoming Chelsea’s Executive Director in January 2014, dealing with some massive transfers in that time.

Under the ‘Iron Lady’, Chelsea saw an exceptionally high turnover of players. And her abilities to negotiate a sale and spot a bargain were a key reason for Chelsea’s recent success.

However, for every successful N’Golo Kante or Antonio Rudiger, there have been some disastrous purchases, as well as sales that the club would later regret.

Six managers have now worked under Graovskaia in eight years, and while Thomas Tuchel has worked well with her strategy of control, others such as Frank Lampard and Antonio Conte were reportedly unhappy at her influence over signings.

But Chelsea have won six major trophies since she took her current role, meaning she have done something right. We’ve taken a look at her 10 first signings to see how they fared.

Bertrand Traore

Traore actually had a trial at Chelsea two years before his official arrival but was confirmed as Granovskaia’s first transfer, signing a four-and-a-half-year deal in January 2014. He would play 10 league games for the club, scoring twice, before departing for Lyon after two loan spells.

The winger was impressive in three years at Lyon, such that Aston Villa paid £17million for his services in September 2020, but he’s now on loan at Istanbul Basaksehir.

Nemanja Matic

The Serbian midfield powerhouse was one of a number of players who have had two spells at the club. Initially sold to Benfica in a swap deal for David Luiz in January 2011, Granovskaia made it a priority to bring Matic back and signed him for £21million.

Matic was brilliant in his second spell at Chelsea, earning a place in the 2014-15 PFA Team of the Season and winning two League titles before departing for Manchester United for £40m in 2017.

Over three years of great performances followed by a large profit, this was one of Granovskaia’s very best deals.

Nemanja Matić’s amazing strike against Tottenham was our No.1 goal in the 2016/17 FA Cup.

When he hits them….they stay hit! 👊 pic.twitter.com/yqA9HfmPz6

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) June 26, 2017

Mohamed Salah

Probably Chelsea’s biggest regret, the Egyptian winger was…