How Chelsea dealmaker Marina Granovskaia missed her chance to allay fans' fears at Maurizio Sarri unveiling

Marina Granovskaia ignored a golden opportunity to provide worried Chelsea fans with some crucial answers at Maurizio Sarri’s press conference this week.

The influential Blues director took the unusual step of attending the unveiling of a new manager and listened intently as the latest coach to be appointed at Stamford Bridge was questioned by journalists.

But while Sarri’s words were insightful and revealing, the person with the responses that truly matter sat in silence in the audience.

As proceedings came to an end, she checked her phone, had a quick debrief with the club’s head of communications and then walked out.

In fairness, there was the possibility that if Granovskaia had spoken publicly for the first time, it could have overshadowed Sarri’s debut. But with all the uncertainty surrounding owner Roman Abramovich at the moment, Chelsea supporters deserved to hear from someone of authority - and they do not get much more powerful than her.

The 43-year-old has been on the board since 2013 and effectively runs the club for Abramovich: taking care of player contracts; transfers, both in and out; and has a big say in managerial appointments.

Despite being the most prominent female working in the game, Granovskaia has not given a single interview. Bland quotes fed to the club’s internal media do not count.

A few years ago, it looked like she would end the silence when journalists were invited to attend a ‘women in football’ event at Stamford Bridge, where Granovskaia would be speaking.

The organisers were inundated with requests to attend but, within days, it emerged that a PR firm had jumped the gun and what had been mooted as a possible idea was proposed as fact. Nothing came of it.

There are many good reasons why Granovskaia should not seek the limelight. As well as avoiding scrutiny over what is happening with Abramovich, there might be some awkward questions over some of her own decision-making.

It has not been a relaxing summer for Chelsea fans.

Abramovich’s request for an investor visa in the UK has been delayed and he has chosen Israel as his place of residence.

There are suggestions that the Russian billionaire is ready to sell up after 15 years at the helm, although he reportedly rejected a £2bn offer from petro-chemicals magnate Jim Ratcliffe, Britain’s richest man, and has given other enquiries short shrift.

A short, not very sweet, statement was put out by the club in May, declaring that the £1bn redevelopment of Stamford Bridge has been put on hold, with no suggestion of when, or if, the project will get going again.

Then there has been the protracted removal of coach Antonio Conte, a row that rumbles on as legal teams prepare to do battle over whether the Italian will receive any compensation. That the Italian was still in charge for the start of pre-season added to the picture of a club in turmoil.

Sure, Chelsea have won the title twice in the past four seasons, but they have also failed to qualify for the Champions League twice in the last three.

It is one of the reasons why key duo Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard are looking to leave west London. As Granovskaia is in charge of negotiations, why were the Belgium internationals not tied down to new long-term deals long ago?

Talks first began in 2017 and, yet, here we are, two of Chelsea’s best players with 12 months and two years left on their contracts respectively. By haggling over the terms, Chelsea stand to lose a lot more.

Courtois looks certain to join Real Madrid for just £35.5m as the Blues cannot afford to let him leave on a free. But that is an absolute bargain.

In 2015, Granovskaia told Real that the keeper was worth £73m. Since then, he has won another Premier League title, an FA Cup and helped Belgium finish third in the World Cup while winning the Golden Glove award for being the tournament’s best goalkeeper. At 26, his best years are to come and yet he is being sold for less than half of what he was valued three seasons before.

Granovskaia has worked wonders to bring Chelsea’s net spend down over the past four years, so much so it has been lower than that of Everton and Crystal Palace. But some transfer dealings have been botched, like that of John Stones in 2015 and Romelu Lukaku last year. Some of the new arrivals have been overpriced and, frankly, not good enough.

Beating Manchester City to Jorginho was a step in the right direction, but the club cannot afford for it to be a one-off. The problem is, the person who can provide all the reassurances on that score remains in the shadows.

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