Following
the announcement by the UK government on Wednesday that it has approved the
Todd Boehly-led consortium's takeover of Chelsea, confirmation they have
replaced Roman Abramovich as owners of the club is expected any day now.
Clearlake Capital, a California-based investment firm, will be the largest
shareholder in the consortium, but Boehly - the part-owner of the LA Dodgers
baseball team - will be the controlling owner.
The American is certainly the public face of the consortium too, having
become a frequent presence at Stamford Bridge in recent weeks. But what will
be on Boehly's to-do list once he finally gets his hands on Chelsea?
Kick-starting stalled contract talks
The imminent arrival of Boehly's consortium as Chelsea's new owners is
likely to trigger the start of a busy summer in the transfer market for the
men's team at Stamford Bridge. However, the first priority needs to be
making decisions over which players to keep, which of them deserve new
contracts and which players to look to move on.
The sanctions placed on the club by the UK government prevented Chelsea from
negotiating new deals, so Boehly and his fellow investors have to make up
for lost time. Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen have already taken
the decision over their futures out of the club's hands by opting to run
down their contracts, with Rudiger joining Real Madrid and Christensen
expected to sign for Barcelona.
Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso are both reported to be keen to return
to Spain, with Barcelona again said to be interested in the full-backs.
Azpilicueta is Chelsea's captain and has been at the club for a decade, but
after winning every possible trophy in west London, Thomas Tuchel admitted
the Spaniard may feel a "cycle is at its end". Both Azpilicueta and Alonso
have just one year remaining on their contracts, so Chelsea must persuade
them to renew their deals or sell them this summer if they want to receive a
fee.
Jorginho and N'Golo Kante also see their deals expire in the summer of 2023,
meaning Chelsea have big decisions to make over two of the players that were
instrumental in them winning the Champions League last season. Jorginho is
now 30 and has reported interest from Italy, while Kante - who is a year
older - is reportedly the club's second-highest earner and started just 21
Premier League games this season. Renewing the World Cup-winner's contract
seems like a risk given his age and recent injury record, but can Chelsea
face up to the prospect of rebuilding their midfield without him?
Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount and Callum
Hudson-Odoi all have two years remaining on their contracts, meaning Chelsea
face seeing their value decrease if they do not sign fresh terms soon.
Renewing the contract of Mount - Chelsea's player of the season for two
years in a row - will be a particular priority for Boehly's consortium.
Reece James and Edouard Mendy may also be in line for new deals after
establishing themselves as key members of Tuchel's squad.
Initiating the 'rebuild' of Tuchel's team
Once Chelsea have a clear idea over which players are staying and which are
going, they can then look at how they initiate the squad "rebuild" that
Tuchel suggested was necessary after the win over Watford on the final day
of the Premier League season. A clear focus is likely to be placed on the
defence, with at least two centre-backs needed to replace Rudiger and
Christensen. Sky Sports' Melissa Reddy reports that Chelsea have a verbal
agreement in place with Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, with the Spanish club
preferring a quick deal as they look to balance their books before the end
of June. The Blues tried to sign the France international in January but are
optimistic of doing so this summer.
Tuchel is also keen on signing Presnel Kimpembe, who he worked with at Paris
Saint-Germain, while Atletico Madrid's Jose Gimenez and RB Leipzig's Josko
Gvardiol are also on the Blues' shortlist. Full-backs will also be needed if
Azpilicueta and Alonso depart, as well as central midfielders should Kante
or Jorginho head for the exit. Chelsea like Monaco midfielder Aurelien
Tchouameni, but the expectation is he will join Real Madrid, so PSV's
Ibrahim Sangare is among the alternatives being looked at.
Chelsea's attack has received huge investment over recent seasons, but there
are still questions over the future of a number of their forwards.
Club-record signing Romelu Lukaku has failed to fit into Tuchel's side and
talked openly about returning to Inter Milan earlier this season, while
Pulisic, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech have failed to earn regular starting
spots in the Blues' frontline. For the third successive season, Chelsea
failed to have a player reach 20 goals across all competitions and it would
not be a surprise if Tuchel again looks to address that issue.
As explained by
The Athletic's Chelsea correspondent Liam Twomey on
Sky Sports News on Wednesday, Boehly's arrival will see a change to
the way Chelsea operate in the transfer market. Abramovich was willing to
approve expensive signings and cover the club's annual losses, but the new
owners will seek to run the club more like a conventional business. They are
reportedly looking to Liverpool for inspiration, and Reds chairman Tom
Werner revealed to
The Athletic that he had spoken to Boehly about
his fellow American's takeover of Chelsea.
Continuing to back the women's team and
academy
In a statement earlier this month, Abramovich stated he wanted Chelsea's new
owners to "commit investing in the club - including in the academy [and]
women's team". Making that commitment would seem to be a no-brainer for the
new owners, given Emma Hayes' women's team and the academy overseen by Neil
Bath are both extremely successful in their own right.
Hayes' side have won the Women's Super League three times in a row and
reached the Champions League final last season, while - as pointed out by
Chelsea Youth on Twitter - more than 25 per cent of the England squad named
by Gareth Southgate on Tuesday spent at least part of their careers in the
Blues' academy. Continuing to back the women's side will ensure Chelsea
remain at the forefront of the women's game, while investment in the academy
will increase the chances of more homegrown players following the paths of
Mount and James into the first team.
Resolving senior staff's futures
Reports at the beginning of the sale process stated that Bruce Buck,
Chelsea's chairman, and Marina Granovskaia, the director, would likely leave
Stamford Bridge along with Abramovich once the club was sold. However, more
recent reports suggest both Buck and Granovskaia are now likely to retain
their roles under Boehly's consortium. Keeping them in the building would
certainly help to smooth the transition between owners, while Granovskaia -
named as the best club director in European football earlier this season -
is seen as a highly-respected figure within the sport. Blues supporters will
also be keen to see club legend Petr Cech retain his role as technical and
performance advisor.
Redeveloping Stamford Bridge
Like with his request for Chelsea's new owners to continue to support the
women's team and academy, Abramovich made it clear that his successor would
have to commit to the "necessary redevelopment of the stadium", so it is
fair to assume that not insignificant task will be high on Boehly's
consortium's to-do list. There is no denying Chelsea have outgrown the
capacity on offer at Stamford Bridge, the Premier League's ninth largest
stadium that has been left behind by the likes of the Emirates, the Etihad
and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Abramovich did have plans to modernise the ground but shelved them in 2018,
citing an "unfavourable investment climate". Will Boehly and his fellow
investors look to revive those plans, or come up with a new solution? The
role of the Chelsea Pitch Owners - the company that owns the freehold to
Stamford Bridge and is designed to "protect the future of the stadium" -
adds another layer of complication.
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