Major summer surgery is needed at Chelsea as Cup pain is final straw
WHATEVER the outcome here beneath the arch yesterday, the 150th FA Cup Final would always be the least important of the most important events in Chelsea’s summer.
For players, managers and supporters, there can be few greater experiences than the team they represent or follow getting their hands on a trophy at Wembley.
But even a day out like this one is put into perspective if it comes at the end of a period in which your club’s very existence has been threatened.
It’s no exaggeration to say there were times in March and even into April when the Blues’ future as a going concern wasn’t completely assured.
And until Todd Boehly (right) and his backers have fully signed off on their £4.25billion takeover of Chelsea, some fans won’t rest completely easy.
But getting those contracts signed and government licenses issued is now the biggest prize.
And, as disappointing as yesterday’s defeat by Liverpool was, on-thepitch issues, even big cup finals, cannot compete for importance with situations such as that.
It’s hard to believe that, 10 months ago, the big question about the newly anointed champions of Europe was whether or not they could close the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.
It took just four months to get an answer to that.
As frustrated as fans were by that dreadful run leading up to the festive period, however, the importance of a title tilt paled in the days which followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions placed on Roman Abramovich by the UK Government sent the club into a tailspin of such proportion that it wasn’t always clear they would make the end of the season. Thankfully, the chances of that scenario materialising look to have passed, with Boehly and Co confident they will beat the May 31 deadline and perhaps even by some days. That will just be the beginning of a huge summer for Chelsea’s new owners, with so many players’ contracts needing dealing with that, even if Russia hadn’t acted so heinously, those at the top at Stamford Bridge would have been tested. But the added, extreme complication gave them a twist no one could have foreseen and effectively sealed the departures of Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen to Barcelona. Captain Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso could yet follow the Dane to Barca, leaving Boehly, Tuchel and the club’s recruitment department some major surgery to perform at the back. Sevilla’s Jules Kounde, who Chelsea looked at signing last summer, remains an option, but even with Trevoh Chalobah, in particular, and Malang Sarr growing in stature, they must bring in at least one, possibly two, top central defenders.
Chalobah did well yesterday ultimately, although Luis Diaz gave him a torrid opening 20 minutes.
On the left of Chelsea’s defence, Ben Chilwell is back in training but a replacement for Alonso would still have to be sought.
Alonso has his detractors at Chelsea, but there were times yesterday where he was their biggest attacking threat, two of which he was perhaps unlucky not to have scored and one which he may have buried.
A new deal for Reece James (below left) is a top priority for Boehly and Co, with Real circling the star, and the midfield and attack have yet to be mentioned.
With Mason Mount in the same position as James, doubts surround Jorginho and N’golo Kante, while a cryptic tweet from Christian Pulisic’s dad this month raised eyebrows.
Then, of course, there’s the dilemma over Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, and while Lukaku has scored goals recently and got the nod from Tuchel yesterday, still he didn’t have the impact you’d hope a £97.5million striker would have on a game of this magnitude.
A huge, huge summer lies ahead for the Blues, and the club could well be unrecognisable come August from that of last season.