It remains a misunderstood job in Britain but the main reason a Director of Football retains a prominent role in many of Europe’s major clubs is for continuity.
In theory managers and coaches can come and go (as they all too frequently do) but by handing transfer control to an individual independent of the team, it can maintain consistency in its playing staff.
Clubs in the Premier League continue to wrestle with the concept and only a handful have got it right. West Brom being the obvious, but only one of England’s ‘big clubs’ has remained steadfast in its commitment to the structure – Chelsea.
First Frank Arnesen and now Michael Emenalo, Abramovich has tried to embrace a continental approach to offset his all-too aggressive managerial axe. But Chelsea are anything but a model of consistency.
Since Emenalo’s promotion, Chelsea have admirably concentrated their resources on buying some of the world’s best young talent. Players with a relatively low transfer fee, small wages but with, assuming they fulfil their potential, considerable re-sale value.
However the arrival of Jose Mourinho – a manager who pretty much guarantees at least one trophy a season – has accelerated the process, far beyond what they could have imagined.
True to the theory, Chelsea should make a sizeable profit on Kevin De Bruyne by selling him to Wolfsburg, just two years after buying him from Genk but the Belgian has made five starts and, understandably, wants out.
He was already an international when they bought him, so did the club hierarchy not think he’d soon want first-team football? The same could be said for Thibaut Courtois who is among the best goalkeepers in the world, yet with two years left on his contract, this summer he’s likely to seek a move away. Chelsea could, theoretically, lose the next great keeper of our time.
Of course dropping Petr Cech is not an option, especially for Mourinho, but why buy him in the first place? Has his form at Atletico taken Chelsea by surprise?
Vitesse Arnhem are currently taking the Eredivise by storm with five Chelsea players on loan. But after starring in the Dutch top flight are Lucas Piazon and Christian Atsu going to be content with returning to London with the promise of a few League Cup run outs?
The arrival of Nemanja Matic has further emphasised Chelsea’s scattergun approach. A makeweight for the David Luiz deal in 2011, he’s now been bought back from Benfica for £21 million (Dh126m).
Buying and selling young players at will, using their financial might to purchase them to ensure others can’t. It’s a destructive and potentially damaging approach to the players involved. What’s worse, it’s undoubtably going to catch on.
De Bruyne makes the right call
On the subject of Kevin De Bruyne, it’s to his immense credit that he’s opted to swap a club in the Champions League and one competing for a league title to join Wolfsburg who are not in any European competition and on the fringes of the top four in Germany.
There are mitigating circumstances: the Belgian wasn’t going to play much football under Jose Mourinho and was putting his World Cup spot in jeopardy but there are plenty of others who, in his position, would have turned their nose up at Wolfsburg.
He may have to wait a few seasons until he gets to play Champions League football but unlike the club letting him go, his is a long-term vision and the Volkswagen Stadium gives him the perfect platform to grow and develop as a player.
With his countryman and former Chelsea team-mate Thibaut Courtois’ (although neither have played together nor been at the club at the same time) future also up in the air, it will be interesting to see just where he may end up.
If he takes De Bruyne’s lead, the likely destination is Atletico where he has spent two-and-a-half successful seasons and Diego Simeone would dearly love to keep him. But a strong World Cup and one of Europe’s genuine heavyweights could come calling.
Chelsea could (and should) still offer him a new contract but what’s clear, is the 21-year-old has a pretty big decision to make.
