TUCH OF GENIUS
Blues boss can win the title if Lukaku signs
A SUMMER which started with a bang as Chelsea secured victory in the Champions League final is yet to go pop again with big-money arrivals.
But make no mistake, Blues director Marina Granovskaia is working hard to change that and there are big hopes there will be big news this week.
Granovskaia is deep in negotiations with Inter Milan over the return of former Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku in a deal which would eclipse the £100million British transfer record set last week when Jack Grealish moved from Aston Villa to Manchester City.
Talks were understood to be continuing yesterday.
There is also strong interest in Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, although they will need to sort out Kurt Zouma’s future to get that one over the line.
Lionel Messi’s father, Jorge, was even contacted by an English agent on Friday who said he was working on behalf of Chelsea.
And while Messi looks increasingly likely to join Paris Saint-Germain, even the fact Chelsea explored the opportunity will delight Blues fans.
Whatever happens in terms of new arrivals before the transfer window closes on August 31, Chelsea will go into the season buoyed by what they achieved under Tuchel last time out.
He didn’t arrive until January but made his mark straight away with a 14-game unbeaten run. That laid the foundations for a top-four finish and gave them the confidence to kick on in Europe and ultimately beat Manchester City in the final.
Whether or not they have what it takes to close the gap between themselves and City in the top flight — Pep Guardiola’s champions finished 19 points ahead — remains to be seen and will depend on who they can bring in.
What is certain is that bigger and better things will be expected of last summer’s big-money signings Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.
Havertz started to show his qualities more and more as the season wore on after a difficult adaptation to London.
In the early months he suffered a nasty bout of Covid and struggled for form and fitness on the back of it. Werner also struggled to make the impact he would have liked and will hope to rediscover the goalscoring form which everybody knows he is capable of this season.
The longer he went without scoring, the more he snatched at chances, and that is something he will need to address.
A couple of early-season goals will do him and Chelsea the world of
good.
Ziyech, too, showed in flashes what Blues fans can expect but an injury soon after he arrived also meant his settling-in process wasn’t easy.
A year or so on, however, and like his team-mates he should now have started to acclimatise.
Tuchel, too, will know the league better and is almost certain to benefit from the arrival full time of his family in England.
The likeable German made a huge impact on the Premier League and on Chelsea in his first five months at Stamford Bridge and it will be fascinating to see him going head-to-head with Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Co again this time out.
Going into the season, the Blues have to be considered title contenders.
And if they can get Lukaku and Kounde in then Stamford Bridge will be rocking with confidence at the start of the new campaign.