Will Avram's arrival give Jose the blues?

Grant's arrival as director of football can serve only to irritate Mourinho and add further clutter to the hierarchy of a club which was driven to distraction by bitter in-fighting last season.

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Owner Roman Abramovich may believe he finally has a trusted ally on the football side of his club — but at what cost? And how can Grant justify his hefty salary if Mourinho won't let him have any input?

The first duties to fall into Grant's domain will be relatively minor logistical tasks like organising the transport and accommodation for first-team players and staff when they travel away to matches. But it is an area where the chances of friction with Mourinho are high.

The manager fights for his players just as fiercely behind the scenes as in public and, if a hotel is not up to scratch or travel arrangements not in the best interests of the players, he will speak his mind.

Mourinho is suspicious of Grant's arrival and guarded about his reputation as a hard worker. He said: 'I think the club was very clear in the statement they put out.

If you want to know more about his work ethic, you'll have to speak with him.

"He's here to give some support to different areas in the club and for me that is not a problem.

"If the club wants to bring people to make the club better and to create a job for somebody to support those different areas in the club then fine.

"From my point of view, he must not interfere with the power I have in relation to my job. So, welcome, and I will try to help him with what happens at a club like Chelsea."

Many inside the club expect the new director of football's unofficial role will be to study Andriy Shevchenko in training and in games and report directly back to Abramovich.

Shevchenko, the £30million striker and friend of the owner, endured an unhappy first season at Stamford Bridge and one Italian newspaper report claimed yesterday that the Ukrainian had asked to meet Abramovich this weekend to request a move back to AC Milan.

Grant does not speak Russian but he is one of Abramovich's inner circle of trusted advisers, having earned his respect since the pair first met three years ago.

Agent Pini Zahavi took Abramovich to the Israel team hotel in Dublin to meet Grant after a 2-2 draw in a World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in 2004.

Grant was team manager at the time and in the middle of an unbeaten qualifying campaign in a group which included France.

Israel just missed out on qualification for the finals in Germany but Grant's reputation, originally built on league title wins with both Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa, was enhanced.

Grant, unhappy at the apparent reluctance of the Israeli FA to open contract talks, resigned as Israel manager in November 2005.

It seems he would probably have been offered a new deal but had become tired of the criticism which followed two narrow wins (2-0 and 2-1) against the Faroe Islands.

"I'm fed up with this demon dance," said Grant at the time. "It's easy to criticise but not so easy to get results."

His relationship with Abramovich developed and Grant's specialist advice prompted Chelsea to strike an informal tie-up with Hapoel Tel Aviv, resulting in a move to Stamford Bridge for teenage Israeli striker Ben Sahar.

Abramovich is understood to have promised to help Grant into English football and used his influence to land him the job last season as technical director at Portsmouth, although he spent the campaign deep in the shadows.

Grant, 52, remains a big personality in Israel, mainly because of his own profile but also through his actress wife Tzofit, who recently hosted a prime-time Friday night chat show on television.

She stayed in Israel last year when her husband joined Portsmouth, sparking rumours that the marriage was on the rocks.

But her TV show has since been axed due to poor ratings and earlier this month she was house hunting in London.

There is a sense of Israeli national pride in Grant's move to Chelsea but this is mitigated by the fact that he will not be the man in charge, picking the team or making the big tactical decisions.

At least he left Portsmouth on good terms and with a glowing reference from Harry Redknapp.

The Pompey manager said: "He was a lovely bloke to work with and it is a great move for him to go to Chelsea. We talked about things from time to time and he was very helpful.

"I had no problems having him around but he obviously had a good offer from Chelsea."