How Tuchel will rebuild Chelsea
Coach can seize the chance to create a squad in his image German has no holiday plans as he starts work with Boehly The players who could be leaving Stamford Bridge
Thomas Tuchel has not scheduled any holiday as he bids to get straight to work on Chelsea’s new era under the Todd Boehly-led consortium.
Boehly received confirmation of the final clearing of his takeover from the Government, the Premier League and Europe, with Chelsea now preparing an announcement on the club’s change of ownership.
There will be no time for celebrations and head coach Tuchel, unlike a number of Premier League players and managers, has not marked the end of the season by taking a private jet to a luxury resort.
Instead, the German has remained at his home near Chelsea’s Cobham training ground to immerse himself in transfer meetings and how Boehly and his consortium want to plot their way through the start of the club’s postroman Abramovich era.
Tuchel could still take a break later in the summer if Chelsea’s situation allows it, but he has nothing planned and his No1 priority is to navigate his way through a squad overhaul and plot how the club can close the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool.
Boehly is expected to spend a lot of time in London to hold talks with Tuchel and other key heads of department.
Boehly is also ready to hand Tuchel £200million to spend, but, just as important as the money, the new owners recognise the German needs to rebuild the squad in his own identity – just as Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have done.
Of Chelsea’s 26-man first-team squad that completed their season with a 2-1 victory over Watford in front of Boehly on Sunday, issues surround 14 of them with three players – Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Cristensen and Saul Niguez – certain to leave.
Tuchel will want clarity over captain Cesar Azpilicueta’s future soon, while players such as Marcos Alonso, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Christian
Pulisic, Ross Barkley and Kenedy will all be open to moves. Big decisions face Chelsea’s new owners and Tuchel over Jorginho and N’golo Kante, who both have a year remaining on their contracts, while Romelu Lukaku and his representatives will seek talks.
Tuchel was adamant in a small huddle with journalists last week that Chelsea face a headache this summer. With the benefit of more time, and with the change of ownership about to be announced, Tuchel may also view a period of transition an opportunity. It has become apparent since Chelsea’s last Premier League title win in 2017 that, while the club has remained competitive and successful in the cup competitions, their strategy needs to change.
The current squad was signed by six different managers and all of them had very different styles and philosophies. Tuchel needs his own culture, something which a number of his predecessors have been unable to foster with a squad who have known that Chelsea players have enjoyed far longer lifespans than their head coaches.
The Boehly group have been hugely impressed by the way Tuchel has dealt with the impact of the restrictions that were put on Chelsea as part of the sanctions placed on Abramovich. They also rate him as one of the best head coaches in the world. There has been criticism from supporters that Tuchel had to face questions on Abramovich and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while chairman Bruce Buck remained silent, and fans can expect more diaas
logue from the board under the Boehly regime.while he makes success front and centre of his strategy, those who know Boehly’s work in business and as a part-owner of the LA Dodgers baseball team expect Stamford Bridge to become a more nurturing environment. Mason Mount and Reece James could be early beneficiaries of a desire to reward high performance.
Boehly is very much the face of Chelsea’s new era, but, on the pitch, Tuchel has the chance to build the start of it in his image.