Chelsea are targeting a move for Atletico Madrid sporting director Andrea Berta amid Marina Granovskaia’s uncertain future at the club.
According to Diario AS, Chelsea are in for a major overhaul, not only in terms of the squad but also from an executive level. The exit of Roman Abramovich and the subsequent arrival of Todd Boehly was always going to leave a major impact on the club’s personnel.
Bruce Buck has already announced his exit as the club chairman, with the English media expecting Marina Granovskaia to follow suit. Amid uncertainty over the future of many of the club’s executives, Chelsea are keeping an eye on Andrea Berta, as part of their plans to install a new sporting director.
A native of Brescia, Berta is currently serving as the sporting director at Atletico Madrid. He has been a part of the Spanish capital club since 2013, joining from Genoa. While the Italian initially started out as a technical director, he was handed out the role of a sporting director in 2017.
The 50-year-old has since played a critical role in Atletico Madrid’s success. His role in the transfer market, coupled with his sporting policies and leadership have helped Los Colchoneros keep up with other European giants and even win a couple of league titles.
However, the report AS suggests Berta is not too happy with his life at Atletico Madrid anymore. He might prefer a change of scenery and a move to Premier League is a possibility for the Italian.
That is where Chelsea come into the fray. The Blues are looking for a new sporting director following the exit of key members of the board including chairman Buck and potentially Granovskaia, who used to play a key role in transfer negotiations, having helped the club rope in the likes of Kai Havertz, Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, among many others.
The arrival of Berta, though, might also depend on the future of Petr Cech. The former goalkeeper is involved in many of the club’s decision-making processes and he must leave the club if Chelsea are to bring in the Atletico Madrid shot-caller in the coming season.
In the meantime, Chelsea owner Todd Boehly looks set to replace Bruce Buck as the club chairman and may even temporarily replace Granovskaia in the transfer negotiation duty, before the Blues appoint a successor.
