- Former Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo resigned in November
- Emenalo worked with Antonio Conte behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge
- He has since joined Monaco but was a go-between for Conte and the board
- Blues boss Conte has been left in a lurch with transfer guru Marina Granovskaia
- Carlo Cudicini is acting as the middle-man to cool tensions between them
The loss of a ‘peacemaker’ in Michael Emenalo has not helped Antonio Conte, with his relationship having become increasingly strained with the Chelsea board in recent weeks.
Emenalo resigned as the Blues technical director in November after previously working closely with 48-year-old Conte behind the scenes at the Premier League club.
Yet his move to Monaco has left Conte in the lurch with the Italian and Russian transfer guru Marina Granovskaia having not always seen eye to eye.
Antonio Conte has been relying on assistant Carlo Cudicini to act as an unofficial go-between
According to reports, Conte’s assistant Carlo Cudicini is acting as an unofficial buffer between the two. Emenalo’s exit has not helped matters.
Emenalo would stay in contact with Conte on an almost daily basis and worked closely with the board and owner Roman Abramovich too, acting as a go-between.
Following Chelsea’s Carabao Cup semi-final loss to Arsenal, Conte aimed a dig at those in charge by claiming they were behind every single transfer at the club.
That has not gone down well with the Stamford Bridge bosses.
There is no replacement lined up for Emenalo, who was one of the club’s most important men in their last decade.
Conte is struggling to see eye-to-eye with Chelsea’s transfer guru Marina Granovskaia
Cudicini has taken up an unofficial role as peacekeeper after former technical director Michael Emenalo resigned in November, which has seen Conte’s relationship with the board suffer