Chelsea’s transfer goals seems to be quite heavily dependent on player sales again this summer inasmuch as Roman Abramovich’s has decided to take a step back.
The European champions have consistently tried `to follow a self- reliable model, however, their owner’s shock announcement of his plans to hand over stewardship of the club during the weekend has raised fresh queries over their capacity to break the dominance of Liverpool and Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
Furthermore, Thomas Tuchel has vowed to back down at the end of the season, with the German head coach aiming to strengthen in core areas after seeing Chelsea’s title bid falter.
Inasmuch as Abramovich will still be free to offer financial backing, having loaned the club £1.5billion since buying it in 2003, it is understood that there is a zeal to stay on a path of self-sustainability and reliability, which will for surety impact their spending power.
It further places more pressure “on trials to convince out-of-contract Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen to stake their futures in the club, as Chelsea may lose such defensive pair for nothing at the end of the season.
Transfer strategy was among the main queries resulting from Abramovich’s announcement that he intends to hand over stewardship of the club to the trustees of Chelsea’s charitable foundation, reports say.
However, Chelsea sources claim it does not in any way need to have a direct impact, with the club-record £97.5million signing of Romelu Lukaku last summer ultimately funded by the sales of several academy products.
Kurt Zouma, Tammy Abraham, Marc Guehi and Fikayo Tomori commanded a combined fee of £105.8m. There is the potential of cashing in on more home-grown talent this summer, with Faustino Anjorin and Armando Broja both being focused on by Southampton, among others.
In addition, there are members of Tuchel’s present squad who face uncertain futures, with Timo Werner one potential big-name exit after failing to gain grounds for himself since his £45m move from RB Leipzig. Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech are others who maybe the subject of bids in the summer.
Amongst others, It has always been Chelsea’s intention to back Tuchel in the market when the transfer window resumes, with Abramovich convinced he is the man to challenge Pep Guardiola’s dominance after winning the Champions League and Club World Cup in little over a year under him.
There is a feeling among the hierarchy that the race for the title maybe essentially closer if not for injuries and Covid situations at a core point of the season.
Though, there may still be an acceptance that developments to the squad need to be made, and more top-quality recruits can be desired if either or both of Rudiger and Christensen exit as free agents.
As Jules Kounde leads the defensive target while covering for Reece James is needed at right wing-back. Conor Gallagher will be added in the first-team squad as soon as he returns from his loan at Crystal Palace and Broja could be seen as an option up front if money needs to be targeted to other areas.
Declan Rice and Monaco’s Aurelien Tchouameni are both under review in midfield, although any move maybe dependent on the exit of Jorginho, N’Golo Kante or Mateo Kovacic.
Abramovich’s spending has fluctuated ever since the spectacular transfer sprees at the early part of his ownership, with the club ensuring it complies with Uefa’s Financial Fair Play regulations.
However, the £222m outlay on Edouard Mendy, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell, Ziyech and Werner in the summer of 2020 marked a concerted effort to pull down the stronghold City and Liverpool have had on English football in present years.
Regardless of the fact that Chelsea could not match that last summer, they still broke the club transfer record on Lukaku.
A core issue as per funding is the matchday revenue produced at Stamford Bridge, which has the smallest capacity of any top-six team, though turnover was up from £407.4m to £434.9m according to latest figures. Only the impact of Covid and playing behind closed doors is said to have stopped the club from breaking the £500m mark.
So far, Despite summons for Abramovich to be sanctioned due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he has not been addedo n the list of oligarchs targeted by the UK Government.
Should in case that occurs in coming days, it would raise serious questions over Chelsea, with his decision to step down and hand over stewardship not quite necessarily insulating them from any fallout if his assets were to be even seized.
