How Chelsea should rebuild

The Todd Boehly-led consortium has finally completed the takeover of Chelsea for £4.25bn.

This ends months of uncertainty about the future of this great club.

The good news is, the club can start planning for next year’s campaign with renewed vigour.

Defence needs an overhaul

Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are leaving for Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.

They must be replaced with two quality centre-backs.

It’s also time to replace Cesar Azpilicueta who is 32 and reportedly wants to return to Spain.

The only remaining first-team centre-backs are Thiago Silva, Malang Sarr and Trevoh Chalobah.

Silva turns 38 in September.

Chalobah, though talented, is still only 22 years old.

So clearly, Tuchel needs to rethink his defensive options completely.

Till now, Tuchel was compelled to use a group of players signed by six different managers.

Since his appointment in January 2021, Tuchel has only signed two players – Romelu Lukaku on a permanent transfer and Saul Niguez on loan.

But now is the time for Tuchel to completely reboot the squad with players who understand his philosophy.

Defensive options

Paris Saint-Germain’s Presnel Kimpembe is part of a shortlist of central defensive options.

He is Tuchel’s preference, having played under him at PSG.

Atletico Madrid’s Jose Gimenez and RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol are also among those being looked at.

The only likely signing is Jules Kounde.

The Blues have put plans in place to sign the defender from Seville and an announcement is imminent.

Midfield decisions

In midfield, decisions need to be made regarding N’Golo Kante and Jorginho.

Both are in their 30s and have just one year remaining on their contracts.

Chelsea cannot allow them to leave for free and so, must quickly decide whether to offer them new deals this summer or let them go for a fee.

Even if Kante stays, a younger option is important as the Frenchman has been increasingly injured last season.

There are rumours about Declan Rice but it’s likely that West Ham will act tough and refuse to sell Rice this summer despite the fact that he turned down a bumper deal.

The Hammers are confident no club will match their huge valuation, of 150 million pounds  for Rice, who has two years left on his contract.

Monaco’s Aurelien Tchouameni is an option but Monaco is demanding 80 million pounds for him.

Forward line

Chelsea have not had a prolific centre forward since Diego Costa left.

Goal scoring has been a big issue for Chelsea.

The last player to score 20 goals in a season for the club was Eden Hazard, and he left three years ago.

There is clearly room for improvement.

If Chelsea are serious about mounting a title challenge, they need to bolster the forward line with a proven goal scorer in the mould of Lautaro Martinez or Lewandowski.