Emenalo is widely regarded as one of the best operators in his field in football, chiefly for his work at Chelsea where he spent 10 hugely successful years.
During Emenalo’s time with the club, Chelsea won the Premier League title three times, the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Europa League and the Champions League.
He was one of the club’s key decision makers in the appointment of managers, working with 10 during his time at Stamford Bridge, and also played a big role in first-team recruitment.
It was Emenalo who identified Belgium as a blossoming market and, with his scouts, spotted and signed talents such as Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois, while also helping to convince Eden Hazard to later join Chelsea.
Emenalo also played a big part in the development and the success of Chelsea’s academy with graduates such as Mason Mount, Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek establishing themselves as first-team regulars and others, such as Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi, earning the club millions.
Emenalo’s philosophy on loaning players out has also proved to be revolutionary, with Chelsea profiting financially and in a sporting sense from his belief that older academy graduates should play at least 45 games to get them ready for the rigours of first-team football in the Premier League.
Chelsea’s so-called “loan army” was initially met with great scepticism and criticism, but it has since been copied by a number of top clubs around the world.
After resigning from his position at Chelsea in November 2017, Emenalo later experienced a more difficult spell at Monaco, joining the club at a time of great upheaval at the end of a successful cycle for the Ligue 1 club.
Emenalo was forced to cope with the sale of high-profile players and the coming and going of coaches before eventually leaving Monaco by mutual consent just over two years ago.
But, given the deep-rooted problems Monaco experienced throughout the club, Emenalo’s reputation within football was not tainted by his spell in Ligue 1 and he has since received a number of offers to return to work.
