Thomas Tuchel is weaponising change with revamped squad amid massive Chelsea shake-up

These traits may serve Chelsea well in a period of unprecedented upheaval. Almost quietly – with so much attention on Manchester United and their new start under Erik ten Hag – Chelsea have been undergoing the biggest shake-up of any “big six” club since 2013, when Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement altered everything at Old Trafford.

Roman Abramovich, Bruce Buck, Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech are gone. A new ownership figurehead and sporting director rolled into one (at least for now) has arrived in the shape of Todd Boehly. And there has been an exodus of players – some very good ones – with Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Romelu Lukaku leaving, and Cesar Azpilicueta, Hakim Ziyech, Marcos Alonso and possibly Ross Barkley set to follow.

It leaves Chelsea in a novel state of transition, because for all that the club were portrayed as unstable during the Abramovich era, the churn was only ever pronounced when it came to managers. The hierarchy was consistent (with Buck serving as chairman and Granovskaia as Abramovich’s key executive for a combined 28 years) and enviable recruitment and youth development gave the squad great continuity. Under Abramovich, top talent arrived or emerged and then stayed, enjoying long Chelsea careers.

The objective for the Boehly-Clearlake Capital consortium, which paid £2.5 billion to buy the club on May 30 will be to replicate that, but this summer is about a redefinition of what Chelsea are, and one of the most intriguing elements is the role Tuchel will play. Boehly is working on transfers in close consultation with the German and the first arrivals are likely to be from Manchester City, with Chelsea agreeing personal terms with Raheem Sterling and Nathan Ake, while continuing to negotiate with City over fees. Both deals are set to cost about £45 million each.

A £55 million bid for Raphinha remains on Leeds United’s table, although the Brazil winger still appears to be holding out for his dream of a move to Barcelona, and Tuchel is pushing for another centre back with Matthijs De Ligt, Presnel Kimpembe, Kalidou Koulibaly and Jules Kounde reported to be his preferred targets. These are not transfers aimed at changing the squad, but the starting line-up. A new Chelsea – a Tuchel Chelsea – is likely to be on the pitch come the club’s Premier League opener, away to Everton, on August 6.

Managers rarely got to shape the team during the Abramovich days. Antonio Conte left because of a lack of influence over transfers, while it was sometimes a source of tension for Jose Mourinho and it is remarkable to think that, in his first 18 months as Chelsea boss, Tuchel won three trophies and contested six finals but signed just one player on a permanent deal – Lukaku, who admittedly did not prove much of an advert for his judgment.

But he has been gearing up for this window for some time. When Chelsea’s 2021-22 campaign started faltering over December and January, Tuchel began emphasising the need for better competition for places. He felt his best players weren’t being pushed hard enough and outlined his view that intensity and mental edge are everything, and both start on the training ground where sessions should be as competitive as games.

In May, while the Boehly-Clearlake takeover was still being completed, Tuchel had a message for his new owners. “The race is on from the first day in pre-season,” he said. “We need to be very good in recruiting, very good in scouting, very good in decision-making – all of us – to sign the players who are the best fit, bring the mentality, mindset, positional profile that you need to improve the squad. Part of being competitive is being competitive with signings and in the transfer market.”

Tuchel’s positional detail and ideas about controlling games via possession and shape on the pitch are close to Pep Guardiola’s, so it is no surprise that he wants to sign players from City. Only Mo Salah, Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane have scored more Premier League goals since the start of 2017-18 than Sterling and although some mutter about the 27-year-old scoring “tap-ins” that’s what attracts Tuchel.

He has lacked an effective penalty-box predator throughout his Chelsea reign and works on getting players to arrive from wide into shooting positions in the area. Sterling’s knack for materialising at the far post to finish a move – so often witnessed for City – would be valuable.

Goals – scoring and creating them – are also part of Raphinha’s attraction. Ziyech, having announced he is to represent himself in deals, is edging towards a move to AC Milan and though his profile is similar to Raphinha’s, has not quite had the level of reliable end product to be a Chelsea first choice under Tuchel.

Indeed, in Tuchel’s time, the only forwards he has truly been inclined to hang his hat on are Mason Mount and Kai Havertz, so improving in that area, despite the number of attackers in Chelsea’s squad, seems shrewd. So, too, is the focus on bringing in players with experience, ball-playing skills, and personality in defence – given what was lost when Rudiger departed on a free to Real Madrid.

With Azpilicueta set to be allowed to join Barcelona for a modest fee and the Catalans among the La Liga clubs interested in Alonso, who has less than a year left on his contract, the need to replace winning know-how could get even greater – which is why going for targets with leadership qualities, such as De Ligt and Koulibaly, makes sense.

In short, there is a logic and shape to how Chelsea are approaching squad change, just as you’d expect with Tuchel having influence, and even before arrivals the Chelsea squad that flew to Los Angeles yesterday (Saturday) for the club’s tour to the United States looked strong and intriguing.

Nestled among the big names were fresh ones like Harvey Vale, who starred when England won the European Under-19 Championship, and other youngsters such as Levi Colwill and Tino Anjorin who Tuchel is said to rate highly.

Conor Gallagher is also in the touring party and, after all those loans, raring to finally shine at the club where he was developed – and who’d bet against him, with his determination, quality and positivity. His presence could be like giving Tuchel a £50 million signing for free.

– The Sunday Times