Chelsea boost Tuchel’s say over transfers

Thomas Tuchel has been promised he can take the lead on transfer business by Chelsea’s new owners, in a shift designed to move closer to the Manchester City and Liverpool models.

That could be good news for Romelu Lukaku’s hopes of rejoining Inter Milan if Tuchel tells Todd Boehly he believes the club-record signing should be allowed to leave.

Just as Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp drive decisions over ins and outs at City and Liverpool respectively, the Boehly-led group now in charge of Chelsea have told Tuchel that his voice will be the loudest on transfers and first-team football decisions.

In a meeting with Tuchel, it is understood Boehly made it clear that the new owners would try to deliver his targets and move on those players he does not want. They are prepared to give Tuchel around £200 million to spend this summer, although more could be made available if there were significant player sales.

At least in the short term, Tuchel is still working closely with director Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech, the technical and performance adviser.

Chelsea spent £97.5million on Lukaku last year, but Inter are likely to be able to afford only an initial loan deal, with Chelsea having to partly fund his wages.

The approach of Chelsea’s owners, who have already pumped £100million into the club in new shares, is unlikely to dramatically alter the club’s list of targets. But it does mean that if Tuchel wants to work with Ousmane Dembele again, then any fears over the forward’s injury or disciplinary records are more likely to be pushed aside.

Dembele’s contract with Barcelona expires this summer, which could make him a free agent, although Chelsea are not thought to be close to reaching an agreement with the 25-year-old and have other attacking targets, such as Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling and RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku.

Defence remains Chelsea’s main concern, and they hope to sign Sevilla’s Jules Kounde, with Boehly also ready to fund a move for Matthijs de Ligt, from Juventus.