³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Enzo Maresca and Sonia Bompastor were pictured on Friday holding their manager of the month awards.

The images, posted on the club’s social media accounts, highlight their individual achievements but will also be felt internally as vindication of the direction that Chelsea are travelling in.

During both hiring processes, the Blues were seen as chaotic and there was real suspicion about whether decisions were being made in the best interests of the club.

Of course, it remains early days but the decision to change from Mauricio Pochettino to Maresca is no longer being discussed in such negative terms.

The Italian is the first men's manager to win the award in almost three years and the first under the ownership, perhaps a sign that Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have found their man.

Some of the criticism the ownership, and perhaps the sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley have faced may have been fair, but other parts of it are overly harsh, as they have spent heavily without success and restructured the club rapidly with some teething problems.

But they must also be credited with finally finding a way to succeed as they were also involved in the recruitment of Bompastor to replace Emma Hayes after a glorious 11-year spell.

Meanwhile, Cole Palmer continues to be the poster boy for the transfer policy at Stamford Bridge after claiming Premier League player of the month and the England’s men’s player of the year award this week.