The Blues had high expectations for the 2021/22 season and even took home the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. That, however, turned out to be the peak as we faltered on other fronts due to injuries and a lack of form. The defeats by Liverpool in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup finals demonstrated the work that needs to be done to give the team more bite. The players that needed to be added to the squad have already been identified. Nevertheless, Chelsea are considered outsiders to win the Premier League next season with odds available on liontips.com/tips/soccer.
Tuchel appears to have a plan, although it is unclear if it is in line with the viewpoint of the club’s new owners. It is unclear if the Todd Boehly group, which recently became Stamford Bridge’s outfit new owners, will give Tuchel their full support.
Several reports have indicated that Chelsea could bring in “as many as six summer signings” in the coming weeks, with the obvious focus being defense. Juventus’s Matthijs de Ligt, Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, Sevilla’s Jules Kounde, and Manchester City’s former Chelsea academy graduate, Nathan Ake have been heavily linked to the club. Following Romelu Lukaku’s loan exit to Inter Milan, there is clearly a need to bring in another striker. Manchester City’s England international, Raheem Sterling and Leeds Brazilian international, Rapinha have been linked in recent weeks.
Since last winning the Premier League, Chelsea have spent lavishly on players like Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz, and Kepa Arrizabalaga, breaking their transfer record three times.
While the first two have now been at the club for a good amount of time and have achieved success, the third player has left after just one season, as Lukaku is on the verge of returning to Inter Milan following a disappointing campaign at Chelsea.
The failure of the expensive Belgian international to live up to expectations may mark the beginning of the Blues’ ambitions to make more informed purchases in the future.
With the baseline expectation of a top-four finish and a title challenge set for the Boehly-Clearlake era’s first year, and never dropping below that level “year in and year out,” that is the reported outcome of the “transfer summits” held this week between the powers that be at the club, including of course head coach, Thomas Tuchel.
The names of the probable transfer targets are all well-known, Tuchel also wants quality depth because this season will see the reintroduction of five substitutes. As the summer progresses, Chelsea’s transfer will continue to unfold and we would definitely see more clarity in the coming weeks.
Plans are, of course, one thing. Executing those plans is a completely different matter, especially with so many new and temporary employees occupying important positions. Long term servants such as Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech have all left, and with five weeks until the start of the new season and one week until preseason, the club knows there is no time to wait and business will get started sooner rather than later.
