Report: Todd Boehly has invited executives from every Premier League club to a dinner he is hosting
In a surprising and well-received gesture, Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly is organising an informal dinner for all his Premier League counterparts, according to David Ornstein of The Athletic (Subscription Required) [h/t The Sun].
Representatives from all the Premier League clubs are expected to be in London today for the shareholder meeting. The dinner is said to be after the meeting but not everyone invited will be able to attend. However, the gesture is said to have been well received by the group.
This will probably be the first time Boehly and co meet executives from different clubs under one roof. Since taking over the club in late May, the Boehly-Clearlake administration is embarking upon their first summer in charge of Stamford Bridge.
Since his arrival, Boehly has wasted very little time in exerting his influence. The Chelsea board has been shuffled and familiar faces have departed the club, one by one. Long-term board members Bruce Buck and Maria Granovskaia have left the club, leaving Boehly in charge of the transfer business.
Club legend Petr Cech also relinquished his role as technical director as the Blues ushered into a new era. The American, who also co-owns the LA Dodgers baseball team, intends to appoint a replacement for Granovskaia to handle the transfer business and lighten up his responsibilities.
On the pitch too the Blues have undergone drastic changes. Senior players like Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Romelu Lukaku were all allowed to leave and others could follow suit. But in return, the club have signed Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly and potentially (or hopefully) bring in a few more.
What happens during the dinner remains to be seen. But though it seems to be a get-together to allow everyone to know Boehly, one can expect some business to go down tonight.
It can be seen as a way for him to show that he is open to being friends with other owners. He is, after all, one of the new faces in the Premier League landscape.
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Roman Abramovich’s relationship with other club owners remains unknown but it seems that Boehly wants to set a precedent of friendship going into his reign.
Moreover, this could help to some extent, at least that’s what we fans would want to believe, when Chelsea conduct transfer business with PL clubs. There is still a fair bit of the transfer window left and we could still use a centre-back…