Challenges Chelsea must confront

LONDON. Perhaps it was fitting that Chelsea chose to announce their new American owners at a time more suited to a United States audience.

Sixty-six days after Roman Abramovich put the club up for sale, it was confirmed at 1.37am UK time on Saturday that a consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly and backed by a Californian private equity firm had agreed a deal, handled by a New York bank, worth £4,25bn.

The group is yet to pass the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test or have the deal signed off by the UK government.

But the process is not expected to hit any major problems before Chelsea’s operating licence - put in place to allow the club to run following the sanctioning of Russian oligarch owner Abramovich - ends on May 31.

Then the real work starts. Aside from making Chelsea profitable and rebuilding their Stamford Bridge stadium, there are some major issues to deal with in the short term. Once Boehly has paid the £28m monthly wage bill, he will have to decide which staff will be staying and going, and hope the team do not squander Champions League qualification.

After two months of uncertainty, the immediate future will be a huge challenge to navigate for new owners at a club where, historically, crisis never seemed far away.

The most pressing concern at Chelsea will be a playing squad which is set to have half of its central defence walk out the door when contracts expire at the end of the season, where its record signing Romelu Lukaku sits on the bench and where academy graduates Mason Mount and Reece James are drawing interest from across Europe.

Which means that after two months where new deals could not be struck because of the sanctions imposed on the club, the new owners need people to work quickly.

Would a new director of football or recruitment specialist be able to hit the ground running for those immediate issues?

Probably not. It might make more sense to keep on technical advisor Petr Cech and director Marina Granovskaia, the key contract negotiator, even if that runs the risk of Abramovich’s legacy continuing.

There have been reports that the likes of Granovskaia and chairman Bruce Buck may remain at the club. During the sale process, men’s head coach Thomas Tuchel and women’s boss Emma Hayes said they wanted to stay, but Tuchel, in particular, will be wary of what the future holds as his team’s season threatens to unravel, with just one win in their last five league games.

Antonio Rudiger was offered a deal to become the highest paid defender in the club’s history in advance of Abramovich being sanctioned but is set for Real Madrid; the sidelining of £98m signing Lukaku came soon after he gave an unapproved interview in December.

Despite reaching the FA Cup final again, where they will face Liverpool on Saturday, their Champions League defence failed at the quarter-final stage, and qualification for next season’s competition is by no means guaranteed.

All of which means there are some serious questions to be answered. Who replaces Rudiger, and fellow centre-half Andreas Christensen, who has reportedly agreed a deal with Barcelona?

Does that impact on yet another defender, Cesar Azpilicueta, who has a year left on his deal but has also been in talks with the Catalan side? Are the club willing to writeoff Lukaku’s hefty price tag given he does not look suited to Tuchel’s playing style?