Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho with technical director Michael Emenalo. (Picture: Getty Images)

Michael Emenalo arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2007 in the wake of Chelsea’s sacking of Jose Mourinho.

His official title is technical director and he effectively leads the club’s international and domestic scouting network at all levels.

Emenalo has always been a bit of an enigma to Chelsea fans, who are not entirely sure of the exact nature of his job and the level of accountability he faces when his recommendations do not work out.

The Blues have a huge global scouting network that is constantly looking to recruit the elite talent.


Emenalo’s role as technical director was rumoured to give him an unprecedented amount of control and responsibility over transfers.



Whether this is true or not, it is clear that Mourinho’s role in transfers is much diminished compared to his first spell at the club.

There have even been claims that the club have signed players without the manager ever having seen them play, a recent example being the purchase of Papy Djilobodji from Nantes.

Fans accept that, in the global game, a manager cannot be the sole person in charge of transfers but when gambles do not pay off, it can be hard not to get frustrated when there is seemingly no one willing to take responsibility.

Juan Cuadrado flopped at Chelsea before moving on loan to Juventus. (Picture: Getty Images)

All that said, there has been some success, particularly with youth prospects that have been brought in and sold on for a profit.

The acquisitions of Bertrand Traore and Kurt Zouma also look like they will become excellent additions to the club and both are predicted to have big futures in the first team.

But there have also been some big misses recently and these may cost Emenalo his job.

The Chelsea scouting and recruitment policies seem to struggle to assess and recruit talented wingers on a consistent basis.

Whilst Willian is a notable success, there is a litany of failed signings that have cost the club on and off the pitch.

Recently, these include Mohamed Salah and Juan Cuadrado, who have both left the club (either permanently or on loan) after just a handful of first-team appearances.

These are expensive failures and with the need to balance the books, someone may be found accountable.

That may well be Emenalo.

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